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Summary for 3235 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1282300349 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Modern Neighborhood: North Rainier Valley
Built By: Year Built: 1908
 
Significance
Built in 1908, the residence and adjacent commercial building were owned by Judson T. and Petrel M. Hines in 1917. Originally on Rainier, the building was moved ca 1926 to 1927 back 15’-20’ and rotated to front on Byron. The commercial building was built as a laundry in 1914 to 1915 and sold to Joseph T. Hines. Mr. Hines still lives in the residence. Mr. Hines ran Hines Plumbing Company from the commercial building. Mrs. Hines died in June of 1964. This type of retail shop characterized the early 1900s streetcar community along Rainier Avenue. The electric trolley line through the North Rainier Valley only existed for 48 years, from 1889 to1937, but it had tremendous impact on the area. The line spurred residential and commercial development in the valley due to easier and more direct access to downtown Seattle. Development radiated from stops along the trolley line. When the trolley tracks were removed in 1937, Rainier Avenue had been designated a state highway (1913) and had already made the transition to an automobile arterial. Banker J.K. Edmiston began construction on the Rainier Avenue Electric Railway in 1889, starting downtown at Washington Street and Alaska Way and following Jackson Street east. The route then headed south, through dense woods, along privately donated right-of-way, which later became Rainier Avenue. By 1891, service began to the tiny settlement of Columbia, approximately four miles south of downtown. Edmiston and partners owned forty acres at what is now Columbia City, which they platted in 1891, and they wished the trolley line to spur development there. The trolley line was a real estate development tool as well as a direct means of communication with the city for the isolated early settlers in the North Rainier Valley. The Rainier Avenue Electric Railway was heavily used for both passengers and freight. By the time the line was completed to Renton in 1896, cars ran every forty-five minutes and were averaging over 144 miles per day. Fares were five cents from Seattle to Columbia and five cents additional from Columbia to Rainier Beach. The trip from Seattle to Rainier Beach was seven miles and took approximately one half hour. Freight was shipped at night, and included lumber from sawmills at Columbia and Rainier Beach and coal shipped from Renton to fuel yards scattered north along the right of way. The Rainier Valley saw rapid growth in the first decade of the twentieth century, changing from a sparsely settled wilderness to a series of communities clustered along the trolley line. Seattle experienced a tripling of its population in the period 1890-1910, and the North Rainier Valley was accessible and attractive to both real estate developers and would-be homeowners. The trolley line itself provided jobs, as did the businesses that sprang up at the trolley stops to serve residents in the area. Downtown Seattle was an easy commute and some residents of the North Rainier Valley worked downtown. Major stops along the line included Atlantic Street, where there was a growing Italian immigrant community, York Station, at Rainier and South Walden Streets, Southeast Station, at Andover and Rainier, and Columbia. A stop at McClellan Street at the planned community of Mt. Baker Park was added, as well as a stop at Genesee and Rainier to serve the residents of Lakewood, bordering Lake Washington just east of Columbia. Financial problems and changes of ownership plagued the electric trolley line throughout its short life. By 1907, it had changed ownership twice and had undergone three name changes, becoming the Seattle, Renton and Southern Railway. The tumultuous relationship between the ownership of the line, its riders and the city ended in the city council denying the company’s request for renewal of its franchise in 1934. In February 1936, the Seattle City Council ordered that service by the Rainier Valley Lines be suspended by the end of 1936 and that the tracks be removed as quickly as possible. The firm was the North Rainier Valley’s largest employer, and its demise, on top of the Great Depression, hurt the economy of the area. However, there were two days of celebration, including a parade from 6th and Dearborn south to Rainier Beach and back to Columbia City, to celebrate the paving over of the center strip of Rainier Avenue in June, 1937. In September 1912, on the date of the opening of Franklin High School, there were four elementary schools in the survey area. Listed from north to south, the elementary schools were Colman, Beacon Hill, York (renamed John Muir in 1921) and Hawthorne. All of these schools were built as a direct result of trolley lines making the North Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill accessible for residential development, and all of the schools were located close to trolley stops. In 1876, King County School District #18 was formed, covering the North Rainier Valley. This district merged with the Seattle School District in 1907 when the city annexed the North Rainier Valley. Prior to annexation, the district, also called the Columbia District, was six miles long along the streetcar line and one mile wide on either side of the track. York School was the earliest in the North Rainier Valley section of the survey area. The York Subdivision, platted in 1903 by George M. and Martha Taggart, was one of the early communities along the North Rainier Valley electric trolley line. The Taggart’s donated the land for the school. When it opened in 1903, the school was known as Wetmore School, named for the Wetmore family, early settlers whose home was in the area. York Road, an early county road running from First Hill to the North Rainier Valley prior to the existence of Rainier Avenue, adjoined the school site and is probably the reason the small community became known as York. A new, nine-room brick school designed by architect Edgar Blair and located at Thirty-Third Avenue South and South Horton Street was opened in 1910 and named York School. In 1921, the school was renamed John Muir, after the Scottish born naturalist. An addition designed by Floyd A. Naramore was constructed in 1924 to add a lunchroom/auditorium and nine classrooms. The original building and the addition were demolished in 1989 to make room for a new wing which was designed by Streeter/Dermanis and Associates and which opened in 1991. The North Rainier Valley consists of a depression created by glaciation between the ridges of Beacon Hill and Mount Baker. The valley derives its name from Mount Rainier because of stunning views of the mountain. The area’s growth followed the early streetcar line, which was completed to Columbia City in 1890. The North Rainier Valley includes the area north of Columbia City and contained many early vegetable farms. Commercial development followed along the streetcar line, with housing built nearby. During the first decades of the 20th century, the area between Massachusetts and Atlantic Streets was home to Seattle’s largest Italian enclave, “Garlic Gulch.” Dugdale Ball Park opened on the corner of Rainier Avenue and McClellan Street in 1913, and was succeeded by Sick’s Stadium in 1938. World War II precipitated a surge in housing development, including the public housing project, Rainier Vista, in 1943. Following the war, the area attracted a mix of African-Americans, Asians, and Filipinos. Today this diverse, low-to-middle income neighborhood is unique within Seattle with its long narrow form focused on the Rainier Avenue transportation corridor.
 
Appearance
Built in 1908, this compact, Vernacular, single-family dwelling shares a rectangular corner lot with a 1924 Vernacular street-side commercial building at the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Byron Street. The residence is oriented to South Byron Street and the commercial building towards Rainier Avenue South. Both are sited on flat lots. The 1216 square foot, two-story house with a full basement features a nearly square plan, measuring 38’ by 32’, with an added 10’ by 2’ projecting front stoop. Between 1937 and 1958, the main entrance and Classically-inspired porch were replaced with a window and the existing entrance and minimal stoop added. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad superstructure. Composition roofing covers the roof. The roofline features minimal eaves. The aluminum windows are set flush with the added shingle siding (formerly clapboard). The 792 square foot, single-story commercial building features a rectangular plan, measuring 24’ by 35’. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard-clad structure. A small front facade parapet accommodates signage. Broad display windows along Rainier Avenue South and the corner facing South Byron Street provide display areas with vertical lite transoms above. Signage is painted along the front and South Byron Street exterior walls of the building.

Detail for 3235 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1282300349 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle Foundation(s): Concrete - Block
Roof Type(s): Flat Roof Material(s): Unknown
Building Type: Other Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Original Cladding: Extensive
Changes to Plan: Extensive
Changes to Windows: Extensive
Major Bibliographic References
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "North Rainier Valley Historic Context Statement."
Blanchard, Leslie. Trolley Days in Seattle. Trans-Anglo Books, Los Angeles, 90053, May 1965.
Centennial History, Columbia City, Rainier Valley, 1853-1991. Pioneers of Columbia City, 1992. Carey Summers, contributing author.
Thompson, Nile and Marr, Carolyn J. Building for Learning, Seattle Public School Histories, 1862-2000. Seattle School District No. 1, 2002.
Calkins, Kenneth L. The Name on the Schoolhouse. Washington State Retired Teachers Association, 1991.
The Rainier Valley Citizen Annual, December 25, 1915. Facsimile Reproduction, the Shorey Bookstore, 110 Union Street, Seattle, Washington, 98101, 1979.

Photo collection for 3235 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1282300349 / Inv #


Photo taken Sep 26, 2003

Photo taken Sep 26, 2003
App v2.0.1.0