Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 1536 12th AVE / Parcel ID 7660100215 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Beacon Hill Built By: Year Built: 1906   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. Built in 1906 and remodeled in 1921, this residence is listed in the Polk directories as being owned by R. C. and Koto Takenchi in 1929. Mr. and Mrs. Takeuchi resided in the building until ca 1941. By 1949, G. S. and Judy Lew along with David Lew were listed as residents through 1970. The Chinese were the first group to come to the Northwest. They were recruited to work on railroad construction and in logging camps and canneries starting in the 1860s. During the 1920s and 1930s, Chinese-Americans began to move to areas like Beacon Hill and the Central Area from their initial settlement of Chinatown. Asian families were interested in living in residential neighborhoods, and Beacon Hill was affordable and close to their core area on the southeast edge of downtown. Beacon Hill did not have restrictive covenants found in more exclusive neighborhoods like Mount Baker, which precluded Asians and other minorities from purchasing homes in the area. About seven Chinese families lived on Beacon Hill during the 1930s, including six Lew families and the Ng family. Many first-generation Chinese women worked in the garment or laundry businesses, including North Rainier Valley operations such as Black Bear Manufacturing Company. During the internment of the Japanese during World War II, some Chinese-Americans moved to the Beacon Hill area to take over businesses left by the Japanese-Americans. The Asian population and number of Asian-owned businesses on the hill have continued to increase during the last fifty years. Today, there are more Asian Americans than any other single racial/ethnic group on Beacon Hill. The percentage of Chinese students at Beacon Hill Elementary increased from none in 1910 and less than 1% in 1920 to 22.5% in 1964. Today the combined Asian percentage of students at Beacon Hill Elementary is 50.2%. Many Japanese came to Seattle as part of the second wave of Asian immigration to Washington State starting in the 1880s. The Japanese immigrants came to work on farms, in logging operations, and in canneries. In about 1920, Japanese-Americans began to move to areas like Beacon Hill from their initial settlement of Japantown. Beacon Hill was affordable and close to their core area on the southeast edge of downtown. Beacon Hill did not have restrictive covenants found in more exclusive neighborhoods like Mount Baker, which precluded Japanese-Americans and other minorities from purchasing homes in the area. The Japanese Language School (Kokugo Gakko) was located at 1414 South Weller Street just north of Beacon Hill and was a central cultural institution for Seattle’s Japanese community. The proximity of the language school to Beacon Hill was also a factor in attracting Japanese-Americans to the neighborhood. Only three Japanese families, including Frank Miyamoto’s family, lived on Beacon Hill around 1920. During the 1930s, there were quite a few Japanese businesses on Beacon Hill, including several Japanese grocery stores, such as Toyo Grocery at Fourteenth Avenue South and South Walker Street. Following the internment of the Japanese during World War II, many Japanese-Americans moved back to the Beacon Hill area. The Asian population and the number of Asian-owned businesses on the hill have continued to grow during the last fifty years. Today, there are more Asian Americans than any other single racial/ethnic group on Beacon Hill. The percentage of Japanese students at Beacon Hill Elementary increased from less than 1% in 1910 to 22.2% in 1964. Today the combined Asian percentage of students at Beacon Hill Elementary is 50.2%. Beacon Hill is a long north-south tending ridge located southeast of downtown Seattle and stands 350 feet at its highest point. The hill’s steep topography deterred substantial Euro-American settlement through the early 1880s. Then, development of the area was stimulated by the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1890s, its proximity to Seattle’s main industrial area to the west, and the regrading of the hill’s north end in the early 1900s. Originally acquired by the City in 1898, Jefferson Park was integrated into Seattle’s Olmsted system of parks, and the Olmsted Brothers prepared a plan for the park in 1912. The first public golf course west of the Mississippi opened at Jefferson Park in 1915. Jefferson Park has exerted a profound positive influence on the development of the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Because of its proximity to the International District, Japanese and Chinese families moved to Beacon Hill starting in the 1920s. World War I and II stimulated a surge in housing development associated with wartime industry. The construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s and Interstate 90 in the 1980s sliced through the neighborhoods and contributed to Beacon Hill’s relative isolation. Today, Beacon Hill is an ethnically diverse working class community, which has a mixed Asian, Chicano, African American, and Caucasian population.   Appearance Built in 1906, this modest, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Twelfth Avenue South on a flat site elevated 2’ above street level. This 1330 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full daylight basement features a nearly square plan, measuring 38’ by 35’, with an 8’ by 35’ front porch. A brick foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad (originally clapboard-clad) superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof and hip roof front dormer. Eave overhangs with exposed rafters define the roofline. Wood sash 1:1 double hung windows provide day lighting. Front facade windows maintain a basic pattern of a large window flanked by two smaller windows. All windows feature painted wood casings. A broad direct flight of stairs with metal railings leads to the front porch. Paneled wood piers support the extended roofline over the porch. Turned balusters form the railing between the piers. Brackets extend along the porch below the front eave.

Detail for 1536 12th AVE / Parcel ID 7660100215 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle - Concrete/Asbestos Foundation(s): Brick Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Square Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Moderate 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. Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement." Chew, Ron, ed. Reflections of Seattle's Chinese Americans, the First 100 Years. Seattle: University of Washington Press and Wing Luke Museum, 1994. Chin, Art. "Golden Tassels: A History of the Chinese in Washington, 1857-1977. Seattle: Art Chin, 1977. Chin, Doug. Seattle's International District: The making of a pan-Asian American community. Seattle: International Examiner Press, 2001. Chin, Doug and Art. Uphill: The Settlement and Diffusion of the Chinese in Seattle. Seattle: Shorey Book Store, 1973. Dubrow, Gail with Donna Graves. Sento at Sixth and Main: Preserving Landmarks of Japanese American Heritage. Seattle: Seattle Arts Commission, 2002. Miyamota, Shorato Frank. “Social Solidarity among the Japanese in Seattle.” University of Washington Publications in the Social Sciences, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 57-130, December 1939. Seattle: University of Washington, 1939.

Photo collection for 1536 12th AVE / Parcel ID 7660100215 / Inv #

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