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Summary for 2317 34th AVE / Parcel ID 5700001800 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: American Foursquare Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1909
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1909, this building was purchased by Francis A. and Monica Nelthorpe in July of the same year. The Nelthorpe’s previously resided at 2317 30th Avenue South. Mr. Nelthorpe worked as a bookbinder and a salesman for Independent Commercial Printers Inc. In 1920, the Nelthorpe’s added a garage for $250. By 1944, Fred H. Bruck lived in the residence. William C. Sorenson lived in the building by 1958. In September of 1964, Wallace Murray purchased the building for $15,250. 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.
 
Appearance
Built in 1909, this substantial, American Foursquare style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Thirty-Fourth Avenue South on a flat site 10’ above street level. This 992 square foot, two-and-a-half story house with a full daylight basement features a nearly square plan, measuring 32’ by 31’, with a 9’ by 15’ front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard-clad superstructure. A broad belt course separates the first and second stories. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof and front dormer. Broad, overhanging open eaves with exposed rafters define the roofline. Wood sash 1:1 single hung windows provide day lighting. A direct flight of stairs alongside the building leads to the front porch. Wood posts carried on a low, solid railing support the porch roof. A low railing wraps the second story balcony. A pair of doors leads from the second story to this balcony. A brick chimney services the building. The entrance porch configuration with dual doors leading to the balcony set this building apart stylistically from other American Foursquare style buildings in the neighborhood.

Detail for 2317 34th AVE / Parcel ID 5700001800 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Pyramidal Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Square
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two & ½
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
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.
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 2317 34th AVE / Parcel ID 5700001800 / Inv #


Photo taken

Photo taken

Photo taken Mar 10, 2004
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