| Historic Name: |
Bellevue Apartments |
Common Name: |
Chardonnay Apartments |
| Style: |
Queen Anne |
Neighborhood: |
Capitol Hill |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1906 |
| |
| Significance |
|
|
|
This is an early and ornate example of the numerous apartment buildings that began appearing on west Capitol Hill in the first two decades of the 20th century. The first decade of the 20th century brought significant population growth in the wake of the 1897 Klondike gold rush; 25,000 new residents arrived in the city in just the first three years of the century. West Capitol Hill was a particularly popular place for apartment development due to its views and proximity and easy streetcar transportation to downtown. inest mansions. The Chardonnay (originally known as the Bellevue), dating from 1906, is one of the older remaining apartment buildings. Records indicate that this building may have possibly been moved from the lot across the street, and may date from prior to 1906.
It was designed by architect Frank H. Perkins, who had arrived here from Southern California in 1903. He designed many commercial buildings, apartments and houses, including the Harrison (1909, 322 10th East), the La Crosse (1907, 302 Malden East) and Forest Ridge Convent and School (1910). He practiced in Seattle until 1923.
The Chardonnay is also distinctive for its form, which is very unusual in Seattle. It has a four-columned portico with galleries on the two upper floors. Alterations mean that the building is not as elegant as it once was, as the original turned balusters have been replaced and the columns that originally spanned the second and third floors have been simplified. The decorative parapet has also been removed. Most windows have been replaced with newer sash, but the important leaded glass windows on the galleries remain. Despite these changes, the buildings is still notable for its remaining detail and unusual form.
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| This unusual building has three floors, with a rough concrete block foundation (painted white), dark clinker bricks on the first floor and asphalt shingles on the second and third stories. Brick quoins, painted white, are at the corners. Each side elevation has three three-sided bays on both the second and third storied. The flat roof has deep eaves with Italianate brackets; below is a deep cornice with dentils. The front façade has a projecting portico with four round columns and stairs from each side. The second and third stories each have a gallery the same width as the first floor portico, but with separate, modernized columns. Leaded glass windows and French doors open onto the galleries, which have newer balustrades. Other windows are one-over-one dark aluminum sash. |
|
|
| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Shingle |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Block |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat with Eaves |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Multiple Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
three |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture |
| Integrity |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
|
|
Changes to Plan: |
|
|
Changes to Windows: |
|
|
| Major Bibliographic References |
|
Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
|
|
King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
|
|
City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.
|
|
|
