Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 343 NE 52nd ST NE / Parcel ID 9550204230 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Tudor - Cottage Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1928   Significance This representative Tudor cottage was erected in 1928 by owner and builder A. J. Allen & Son (6203 10th Avenue N. E.). The architect is not listed on the building permit, suggesting that the structure was designed by the builder or constructed from a set of stock plans or a pattern book. Built toward the end of the second North End building boom, this structure exemplifies the work of merchant builders working in the Tudor cottage mode. The house is appears to be intact and is significant as one of a number of Tudor style structures built in Wallingford by this particular builder. The hipped roof makes this building a somewhat unusual example of the style.   Appearance This is a 1-1/2 story brick veneer clad frame residence on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The structure has a steeply pitched hipped roof; however, the north (street) façade is dominated by a prominent brick gable that appears to mark a wing projecting toward the street at the east end of the north elevation. This wing extends a foot or two beyond the face of the house at the west end of the north elevation. A non-structural timber cross-piece, set away from the face of the masonry veneer and supported by shaped timber bracing, marks the main floor level of the wing and functions as a trellis “protecting” the entry to the basement garage. The garage is an original element of the design; however, the overhead garage door appears to be of more recent vintage. A smaller gabled entry hall projects a foot or two further towards the street in the middle of the north elevation; it is entered through a porch at its western face. West of the entry hall, where the north wall of the structure is a foot or two farther from the street than it is at the prominent gabled wing, the projection of the entry hall is sufficient to allow for a three or four foot wide concrete platform that stretches the length of the wall and provides access to the front porch. The roof appears to flair slightly as it approaches some of the eaves, giving it a relaxed character in keeping with the structure’s cottage styling. In fact, the steep roof, brick veneer, close cornice and close rake are typical features of the Tudor cottage style. A back porch is more or less centered in the west elevation of the house and a clapboard-sided, hip-roofed, cube-like dormer stands in the west-facing hip of the main roof. Both of these latter elements are difficult to see from the street due to the landscaping. All of the windows visible from the street are casements and almost all are grouped in pairs. One such pair is centered in the large north-facing gable at the upper half-floor level; each unit is divided into nine equal rectangular panes by lead muntins. The Assessor’s record suggests that the upper half-floor illuminated by this window (and the west side dormer) was only partially finished in 1937 (the original building permit implies that this space was an unfinished attic when the house was built). At the main level, two somewhat larger casements are ganged together in the center of the wall to the east of the entry hall. Each unit of the pair is divided into twelve panes by lead muntins. A similarly proportioned and divided pair is centered in the wall to the west of the entry. A single casement is located at the eastern edge of the entry hall’s north elevation. The sash is divided by lead muntins organized in a diamond pattern typical of Tudor work.. At the east elevation, a chimney projects into the side yard. It is located at about the northernmost quarter point of the façade and is tall but unremarkable and plain, especially for a chimney associated with a Tudor cottage. A pair of casements -- similar to those in the main floor window opening just around the corner -- are approximately centered in the stretch of wall between the chimney and the front of the house. At either end of the portion of the east elevation south of the chimney are two single casements of about the same height as the paired casements; a much smaller window is situated between the two larger openings. An addition (not visible from the street) was built in 1981-84 by the current owner. Aluminum storm windows have been installed at most window openings. No other significant modifications are apparent; however, the brick veneer has suffered some distress, perhaps due to foundation settlement or seismic activity.

Detail for 343 NE 52nd ST NE / Parcel ID 9550204230 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Wood, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable, Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development Integrity Changes to Windows: Slight 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.

Photo collection for 343 NE 52nd ST NE / Parcel ID 9550204230 / Inv #

Photo taken Sep 25, 2004