Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 5701 E Green Lake WAY E / Parcel ID 9551200005 / Inv # DPR032

Historic Name: Green Lake Park Pitch 'N Putt Golf Clubhouse Common Name: Style: Modern Neighborhood: Green Lake Built By: Year Built: 1949   Significance This small wood frame building was constructed in 1948-49 to serve as a clubhouse for the adjacent Pitch ‘N Putt nine-hole golf course. Within thirty years of the first settlement at Green Lake in 1869, the area had been transformed from dense forests to an attractive residential neighborhood served by a streetcar line, which connected it with downtown Seattle. In the late 1880s, entrepreneur William D. Wood acquired more than 600 acres of real estate around Green Lake and then platted and promoted his holdings. In order to stimulate development, Wood convinced Dr. Edward C. Kilbourne, one of the founders of Fremont, to extend his streetcar line from Fremont to Green Lake in 1891. Together, they organized the Green Lake Electric Railway, which Wood managed, and developed a ten-acre amusement park at its terminus on the northwestern corner of Green Lake. The same year, the City of Seattle annexed the Green Lake area along with other northern suburbs. In 1903, the city hired the Olmsted Brothers landscape firm to prepare plans for a comprehensive park and boulevard system, including suggestions for improvements to existing parks. This move was largely brought on by the public interest generated for the planned Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and through the purchase of Woodland Park and the acquisition of Washington Park, two large tracts of mostly undeveloped land. The Olmsted Brothers recommended the acquisition of Green Lake and the creation of a park and boulevard surrounding the lake. Unfortunately, settlement had reached to the shoreline by this time, providing little opportunity to create the park economically. As a solution, the Olmsted Brothers recommended lowering the level of the lake and filling in the wetlands to create more usable parkland. In 1905, the State of Washington deeded ownership of the lake bottom to the city, which proceeded to acquire the remainder of the shoreline through purchase and condemnation, including the former amusement park site. Beginning in 1911, the level of the lake was lowered seven feet, which added 100 acres of dry land once it had been graded and filled. Before the lake was lowered, the shoreline extended south to North 54th Street. Much of this marshy area was filled to create additional space for athletic fields at Lower Woodland. A swampy area north of the boulevard remained largely under water until the early 1930s. The next great physical change came in 1932 with the construction of Aurora Avenue, a six-lane north-south highway, through the center of Woodland Park. Additional land at the south end of Green Lake was filled with material excavated from the trench through Woodland Park. Up until this time, the Parks Department had made extensive improvements to Green Lake Park. However, the financial difficulties of the depression in the 1930s and the shortages of labor and materials during the Second World War halted the construction of most park buildings until the later 1940s with the exception of those built by state and federal relief agencies. In 1947, a private concessionaire developed a nine-hole par three course on this site for pitching and putting only. Within two years, this modest building had been completed to serve as a clubhouse. In 1953, the Parks Department acquired all improvements but continued to operate and maintain the golf course under a concession agreement. This building is significant for its association with the development of Green Lake Park.   Appearance Completed in 1949, this small wood frame building occupies a site at the southern tip of the nine-hole Pitch ‘N Putt golf course. The flat roof overhangs all elevations of the one-story building, which has a rectangular plan, measuring 16 feet by 24 feet. With the exception of the principal west elevation, wide cedar siding covers the walls of this building, which faces west. Roman brick covers the lower half of the facade on the west elevation on either side of the multi-paned center entrance doors. On the north elevation, two large full-height window openings separated by a wide wood mullion contain multi-paned sash and cover all but the eastern end of the elevation. A low roman brick planter extends along the base of the wall below the windows. The south elevation has a long narrow band of multi-paned windows lining much of the upper wall below the roofline and a single window at the eastern end. The rear east elevation has a similar window at the southern end and double wood doors at the center. The northern end of the elevation has a larger multi-paned window above a small shed attached to the building. This modest building retains excellent physical integrity.

Detail for 5701 E Green Lake WAY E / Parcel ID 9551200005 / Inv # DPR032

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat Roof Material(s): Unknown Building Type: Recreation and Culture - Sports Facility Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development, Entertainment/Recreation Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Intact Major Bibliographic References King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Sherwood, Don. Seattle Parks Histories, c. 1970-1981, unpublished. Fiset, Louis. "Green Lake -- Thumbnail History," The Green Lake News, July-August 2000, p. 4-5.

Photo collection for 5701 E Green Lake WAY E / Parcel ID 9551200005 / Inv # DPR032

Photo taken Jul 18, 2000