Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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Style: |
Colonial - Colonial Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Mount Baker |
Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1923 |
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Significance |
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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Built in 1923, this building was purchased by Jack G. and Lillian Jenson in March of the same year. Mr. Jenson remodeled the building in 1931. The Jenson’s resided in the building through 1968.
The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted in 1907 by the Hunter Tract Improvement Company. The Mount Baker Park Addition represents the core of the neighborhood and is its primary character-defining feature. Mount Baker Park is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects.
Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
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Appearance |
Built in 1923, this compact, Colonial Revival style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Thirtieth Avenue South on a flat site 6’ above street level. This 1045 square foot, single-story house with a three-quarter basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 28’ by 35’, with a nearly full width front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the side gable roof. Minimal gable overhangs with pronounced cornices along the eaves and cornice returns define the roofline. A direct flight of stairs leads to the front porch. Four Classically-influenced columns support the pedimented porch roof. A brick gable end chimney services the building. The front porch sets this building apart as unique within the neighborhood. |
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Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one |
Unit Theme(s): |
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Integrity |
Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Major Bibliographic References |
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
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Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
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Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."
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