Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 4401 Phinney AVE / Parcel ID 8129700070 / Inv #

Historic Name: Fitch House Common Name: Fitch/Nutt House Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Fremont Built By: Year Built: 1900   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. The Fitch/Nutt House has an interesting construction history. The original 14x22 gable section in the rear (west end) was likely constructed about 1900 and three years later the side gable addition (east section) was built. The land was vacant in 1896 but had a building by spring 1900. In August 1899, within months after he arrived in Seattle, carpenter Jackson D. Fitch (b. 1862) purchased three platted lots in the Sunset Heights subdivision of Seattle. Fitch probably built a 14 x 22 foot gable dwelling soon after he acquired the property, completing it by late 1899 or early 1900. Since Fitch did not live there, he probably rented it out during the early boom years of the Alaska Gold Rush period. By 1902, Fitch got a good paying job working for the Moran shipyards and he sold his Sunset Heights subdivision lots to carpenter and house builder Thomas W. Nutt (b. 1859) who took up residency in Fitch’s former house. Nutt, a southern boy from Tennessee, came to Seattle about 1900 via Texas and Oregon having acquired a wife (Pamela b. 1859) from Missouri and a son and daughter (b. 1887 and 1891) along the way. After Nutt purchased other lots within the block, increasing his holdings to nine lots, he started moving buildings around. On November 20, 1902 the Seattle Building Department issued Nutt a permit to move the residence and build a 14 x 32 foot 1 ½ story addition which was probably added to the east of the original building. After living in the enlarged house for about five years the Nutts moved. Thomas Nutt moved his family to various homes between Lake Union and Green Lake plying his trade until 1914 when he left town. In 1922 the house was moved again before settling down in its present location. At the time Fitch built the house the Green Lake streetcar line ran down Woodland Park Avenue about eight blocks from the house. Later occupants. Grace Sheets purchased the house in 1933. In 1937 the house rented for $15.50 per month. From the late 1930s through World War II Warren P. and Edith C. Palmer lived in the house. Warren Palmer worked for Seattle Gas Company as operator engineer. During the war, housing was difficult to obtain in Seattle. U.S. Navy serviceman S. Carson and Patricia P. Carson rented a room in the house. By the late 1940s J. J. and Dorothy M. Skillingstead moved in. J. J. Skillingstead worked as a modelmaker for Boeing Airplane Company. By 1954 Vincent L. Yuhas, another Boeing employee, lived there with his wife Jewell. Eight years later Mark D. and Betty J. Goble occupied the house. The Historic Seattle Building Survey of the Fremont neighborhood listed the house as Significant to the City. The 1979 Seattle Historic Resources Survey also inventoried the house. The residence appears to meet City of Seattle Landmark criteria due to the age of the structure (over 100 years old) and minimal alterations.   Appearance The cross gable venacular house was constructed over a two to three year period. The one and a half story front gable residence was constructed about 1900 with a 14 x 32 feet side gable section added to the front (east end) in 1902 (permit # 17536). During the summer of 1922 the residence was moved on the lot to its present location (permit # 215726). The building is sited on a corner lot at the northwest corner of N. 44th Street and Phinney Avenue N. The side gable section has a turned cornice and on the east elevation there are three gable wall dormers. A 5 x 27 foot one story flat roof addition with a recessed porch is attached to the east elevation. The flat roof is a balcony which is accessed by a door in the center gable The original narrow sloped roof 'trim' that separated the first floor from the balcony has been squared off. Double hung windows.

Detail for 4401 Phinney AVE / Parcel ID 8129700070 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Block Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: T-Shape Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Plan: Moderate Changes to Windows: 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. Seattle Inventory Field Form. 1979. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1904-1905) 4 volumes. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1916-1919) volumes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1949-1950 update) 11 volumes. Seattle Daily Bulletin Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. “Fremont: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources.” Seattle: Historic Seattle, 1975.

Photo collection for 4401 Phinney AVE / Parcel ID 8129700070 / Inv #

Photo taken Nov 23, 2004