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Summary for 5249 16TH AVE / Parcel ID 8823900720 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Seydel Residence Common Name:
Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman Neighborhood: University
Built By: Year Built: 1910
 
Significance

Based on field work conducted in October 2014, this historic property retains its relationship to the streetscape, historic building form and a sufficient amount of exterior historic building fabric (design features, cladding and/or window sash/openings) to contribute to the distinct character of the University Park neighborhood. This is a particularly well-preserved historic property that appears to possess architectural and/or historic significance. It was constructed in 1910 in the Craftsman style, which was prevalent in the University Park neighborhood during this period. The original owners were Charles F. and Edna Seydel. According to the 1920 US Census, Charles was employed as a playground instructor. According to the 1940 US Census, Edna was a widow and their daughter, Grace V. Seydel, was a Seattle Public School teacher.

Craftsman-style houses are distinguished by low-pitched, gabled roofs with wide, unenclosed overhangs; roof rafters usually exposed; decorative (false) beams or braces commonly added under gables; porches, either full- or partial-width, with roof supported by tapered square columns; columns or piers frequently extend to ground level (without a break at level of porch floor). Craftsman houses that are one or one-and-one-half stories in height are typically called Craftsman bungalows.  

This residence was constructed during the University District’s 1895-1914 developmental era, during which the University of Washington was established at its present location and the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYP) was held on the University’s campus. In the fall of 1895 the University of Washington opened its new campus with an enrollment of 310 students. The University Store opened at 42nd and Columbus (now University Way) the same year, and the streetcar stop at 42nd and Brooklyn Avenue soon became known as University Station. The platting of the area continued during the 1890s, with the University Heights Addition extending along both sides of Columbus Avenue, the commercial district, to NE 5th Street in 1899. 

By 1900, university enrollment was 614 students and the 1900 Census counted over 400 people in the Brooklyn Addition. University enrollment more than doubled in the five years between 1905 and 1910, reaching 2,200 students by 1910.  By 1910 the University District had become a city within a city, containing the largest concentration of commercial buildings outside of downtown.

The decade between 1900 and 1910 was also the peak period of subdivision in the area. In 1906 the 20-block University Park Addition north of campus was filed. It became the most affluent and exclusive area in the district. The extension of additional streetcar lines stimulated speculation and housing development north of NE 45th Street. These included a trolley line to Ravenna Park developed by W.W. Beck, and the 1907 extension of a line along NE 45th Street from 14th Ave. NE to Meridian in Wallingford. Virtually the entire District was platted and ready for development by 1910. One distinctive feature of the University Park neighborhood is its very narrow lots. The Moore Investment Company, which platted it, apparently wanted to maximize its profits by creating small lots, most of which were under 4,500 square feet. Fairly substantial houses were still built on these relatively small lots.

The first parks in the area were established at this time and included the 1903 and 1908 Olmsted Brothers park plans for Seattle. These plans included Cowen and Ravenna parks and Ravenna and University boulevards. The Olmsteds recommended that a parkway extend from the University north to the south side of Ravenna Park, where many tall trees remained, and from there to Green Lake. Charles Cowen, a local entrepreneur, donated land for Cowen Park in 1905. The city acquired Ravenna Park by condemnation from W.W. Beck in 1911. Beck had operated the park as a private concern since the 1880s. The University Parkway (now 17th Ave. NE) is noteworthy since it provided a formal entry to the north end of the university campus.

The first fraternities and sororities were built on University Way north of NE 45th Street. Phi Delta Theta was the first fraternity on University Way, and by 1906 there were five fraternities and sororities in the area. After 1910, the Greeks began to move to the University Park neighborhood north of campus. By 1914, eighteen of the fraternities and sororities were located on University Boulevard (now 17th Avenue NE) or 18th Avenue NE, and only one was on University Way.

The University District and other areas north of Lake Union became attractive residential districts during the decade following the AYP. In 1908, a local newspaper published the following assessment of the University Park neighborhood: “…it is only a matter of short time until the district will rank with Capitol and Queen Anne Hills as far as residences are concerned. One noticeable and pleasing thing about the buildings is that in most cases a definite style of architecture has been followed with the result that the very original eyesores found in most every community are lacking.” (The Interlaken, January 4, 1908, p. 1.)  The styles described in the article include English, Colonial, Dutch, and “Modern.” Today, we refer to these styles as Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival (with Dutch Colonial as a subtype), and American Foursquare or Craftsman. Many of these houses were pattern book designs by architects such as Victor W. Voorhees and Fred Fehren and developer Jud Yoho. 

Bibliographical References

King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives

McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.

Tobin, Caroline and Sarah Sodt, University District Historic Survey Report: http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/ContextUniversityDistrictSurveyReport.pdf, 2002.

US Census Report, 1920 and 1940.

 
Appearance
Distinguishing features of this Craftsman-style residence include: a cross gabled roof form; deep eaves, wide barge boards, exposed rafter ends and knee braces; a deeply recessed porch; hipped porch overhang supported by paired posts; square balustrade; Craftsman style wood door with sidelights; clapboard siding; groupings of three double-hung wood frame windows with leaded, divided uppers; front facade second floor windows in a projecting box bay with flanking small square casements; brick chimney piecing the eaves on the south facade.

Detail for 5249 16TH AVE / Parcel ID 8823900720 / Inv # 0

Status: Yes - Hold
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Major Bibliographic References

Photo collection for 5249 16TH AVE / Parcel ID 8823900720 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Feb 04, 2002

Photo taken Oct 01, 2014
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