| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Wallingford |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1913 |
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| Significance |
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This house was erected in 1913. It was designed and built by the owner, Henry Nelson, a building contractor, according to the building permit. Nelson listed his address as 3645 Densmore on the permit application
The next owners of the property, Alfred and Eva Jensen, added chicken sheds to the property in 1914 and 1918-19. A “portable garage” was built for the Jensons by Frederick Boyd Company (2043 Westlake) in 1917. A garage was added to the basement of this building by Eva Jensen in 1938.
The Assessor noted the existence of a small “portable house” behind the main structure in 1937. This may have been the “portable garage installed in 1917. The Assessor described the structure as “out of place in this district.”
This structure is significant as an intact craftsman bungalow built in the middle of the Seattle’s first north end building boom.
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| Appearance |
| This is a 1-1/2 story frame residence with brick veneer on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The low slope of the gable front roof, the wide bargeboards supported by triangular timber knee braces, the unenclosed soffits at the undersides of the roof overhangs, the exposed rafter tails and the detailing of the windows and porch are all typical of craftsman bungalow design. The two part bargeboards and flared peaks at the gable ends give the structure an Asian flavor not uncommon to craftsman structures built in this period.
The front porch projects from the west face of the structure toward the street. The stuccoed porch gable, with vertical false half timbering, appears to be supported by a horizontal structural element represented by a two part trim assembly running across the gable’s base. This is borne at the outside corners of the porch by built up wood piers on capped brick pedestals that extend from grade to waist height. A typical craftsman style heavy wood rail extends from the pedestals to the front wall of the house and from the southernmost pedestal to the clapboard-clad, rail height pedestal at the top of the off-axis entry stair. The entry door is located at the north end of the porches back wall (the front wall of the house). A large window group occupies the back wall at the south end of the porch.
A wide but short rectangular attic window is centered in the shingled front gable of the main house, its horizontal extension increasing the sense of Asian influence in the design of the structure.
A gable-roofed bay is situated in the middle of the south elevation. A group of four double-hung windows is centered in its south face. The upper sash of each window is divided into 9 lights organized in a 3 x 3 array; the larger lower sash of each unit is undivided. A chimney, flanked by two double-hung windows in a pattern typically found in craftsman bungalows, is centered in the south wall of the house west of the bay. A porch occupying a notch at the southeast corner of the house appears to have been at least partially enclosed; a south-facing window divided into six large panes lights this space. Small paired double-hung windows, located in the wall between the bay and the former back porch, appear designed to illuminate a kitchen.
The design of the north elevations appears to be somewhat haphazard. A large double-hung window is located in the middle of the façade; somewhat narrower double-hung units are placed at each end of the wall. Two smaller units are situated in the space between the larger units. Metal sliders have been added to light the basement.
A large sill shaped trim piece wraps the house at porch deck level, separating the narrow clapboards at the body of the house from the wider clapboard skirting below.
The driveway that provides access to the basement garage passes under the front porch. The garage door is located in the foundation supporting the west wall of the house itself rather than at the street side of the porch. As noted above, this was not an original feature of the design. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Hold |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Shingle, Stucco, Wood, Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition-Shingle |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Windows: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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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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