Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 5001 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 5649600150 / Inv #

Historic Name: Columbia Auto Service Garage Common Name: Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Columbia City Built By: Year Built: 1920   Significance This brick building was built in 1920. By 1926, 5001 Rainier Avenue S. had become the location of a gas station and auto repair garage, owned by Luke E. Thompson. Thompson was still in that location in 1938. The large brick warehouse on the rear of the lot had the address of 3717 S. Hudson. It was known as the Columbia Auto Service garage, constructed in the mid-1920s. It may have been designed by John L. McCauley. This brick warehouse still exists in greatly altered form. The brick parapet has been removed and most of the multi-paned windows bricked in. It is now a plastics manufacturing plant. The service station on the front of the lot is no longer standing. Beginning in 1912, the site of the subject building was the location of the Columbia Lumber Company. Harry R. Kneisley, president and manager of the company, resided at 3915 S. Ferdinand Street in Columbia City. The company constructed an office and several frame lumber sheds on the site including, in 1918, a one story frame warehouse measuring 100 x 124 feet, and costing $5000. It was designed by architect John L. McCauley. That building is not extant on the site. Between 1918 and 1920 the company had moved one lot south, to 5015 Rainier Avenue S. 5001 Rainier Avenue S. is a large lot that has several industrial uses over the past 90 years. It was the site of a lumber yard and business during the teens and then was used for automotive businesses from the 1920s through the 1960s. The large and imposing warehouse that was constructed on the lot as an automobile garage still stands, in greatly altered form, housing a third industrial use, that of manufacturing plastics.   Appearance This large single story building is of masonry construction and is supported by a concrete foundation. The building has a flat roof and a rectangular plan. The building is clad in solid brick. The original multi-pane windows on the main and north side elevations have been replaced with plate glass windows. The original transom windows have been replaced or covered with wood cladding. The roof originally featured a decorative parapet, which has been removed. Although this building has been extensively altered, the majority of the alterations have been cosmetic, the original building form and cladding remains largely intact.

Detail for 5001 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 5649600150 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: LR Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Commercial/Trade - Business Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Brick No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce, Manufacturing/Industry Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Storefront: Slight Changes to Windows: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Slight 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. Centennial History, Columbia City, Rainier Valley, 1853-1991, Pioneers of Columbia City. Seattle, Washington, 1992.

Photo collection for 5001 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 5649600150 / Inv #

Photo taken Mar 22, 2004