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Summary for 4101 Beacon AVE / Parcel ID 1624049080 / Inv # DPR040

Historic Name: Jefferson Park Golf Course Clubhouse Common Name:
Style: Colonial, Colonial - Colonial Revival Neighborhood: North Beacon Hill
Built By: Year Built: 1936
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places.
Completed in 1936 with financial assistance from the Public Works Administration (PWA), this rambling brick golf clubhouse was the third building constructed for this purpose at the Jefferson Park Golf Course. In 1898, the city purchased the original 235-acre site near the south end of Beacon Hill from the State of Washington for the purposes of a reservoir and cemetery. Within three years, the city had completed the first phase of the Cedar River water system. On January 10, 1901, water began flowing from the Cedar River into Seattle’s system carried by a newly completed 28.57-mile pipeline to the new Lincoln and Volunteer reservoirs. Seven years later, the city began construction on the next phase, which included a second pipeline from the Cedar River and four new reservoirs and their appurtenances at Beacon Hill, Green Lake and Maple Leaf. Situated to the east of the reservoirs’ site, the route of both Cedar River pipelines became Beacon Avenue. The pipeline alignment straightened an existing meandering road along the ridge of Beacon Hill and split the large site into two roughly equal halves. On June 21, 1909, the second pipeline went into service, providing an additional 45 million-gallon per day capacity to meet the water needs of a fast-growing Seattle. Within two years, the twin reservoirs at Beacon Hill reservoirs were completed. In 1909, the City decided to transfer the 137 acres not used for the reservoir and pipeline facilities to the jurisdiction of the Parks Department. Two years later, the Parks Department purchased the property, but Jefferson Park remained largely undeveloped until the city hired the Olmsted Brothers to prepare plans for Seattle’s first municipal golf course. Jefferson Park was one of 37 individual parks and playgrounds for which the Olmsted Brother prepared detailed landscape plans between 1904 and 1930. By early 1912, the Olmsted Brothers landscape firm had developed a plan for the new park, which differed greatly from their earlier recommendations for the site. The 1908 Olmsted Supplemental Plan had proposed a "Beacon Hill Park" as part of the Seattle park system and a "Beacon Hill ridge parkway" as part of the boulevard system. In 1903, the city had hired the Olmsted Brothers to prepare plans for a comprehensive park and boulevard system, including suggestions for improvements to existing parks. This was supplemented by an additional report in 1908 to include the large areas annexed by the city the previous year, including this portion of Beacon Hill. According to the Olmsted Brothers, the proposed "Beacon Hill Park" should lie east of the pipeline road and contain ball fields in the northern end and winding paths throughout. Implementation of the plan began almost immediately, however not always as originally envisioned by the Olmsteds. Before the development of Jefferson Park, only private golf courses had been developed in the Seattle area, which did not satisfy the public’s demand for accessible and inexpensive golf facilities. Completed by February 1912, the Olmsted Brothers plan sited a nine-hole golf course with a small golf shelter on the eastern side of Beacon Avenue, while the western side would contain a playfield and a service yard and shops. However, the Beacon Hill reservoirs were not integrated into the park design, as were the reservoirs at Lincoln and Volunteer. As plans developed, the golf course was redesigned as an 18-hole course, and a wood frame clubhouse on the western side of Beacon Avenue across from the course replaced the small golf shelter. On May 12, 1915, the Jefferson Park Golf Course opened for play and proved to be an immediate success. Unfortunately the wood frame clubhouse was destroyed by fire in December of 1919. A new clubhouse was immediately built, containing a refreshment and clubroom, separate locker rooms for men and women, a golf professional’s room, and a Parks Department office. This building remained in use until 1936 when it was replaced by a larger brick structure built with financial assistance from a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant of almost $8,600. The PWA, one of the important 1930s Depression-era relief agencies, funded large and small construction projects around the country. Designed with Colonial Revival stylistic features, the new building featured all of the amenities of the previous building as well as an apartment on the second floor of the center main block. Since the construction of this building, many additions and alterations have been made. However, the building is significant for its design and for its associations with the PWA and the development of Jefferson Park.
 
Appearance
Completed in 1936, this rambling one and 1½-story brick veneer and wood frame building is situated on the western side of Beacon Avenue South. The club house is located across the street from the 18-hole Jefferson Park Golf Course and between the driving range to the north and the 9-hole par three course to the south. The golf course is part of a larger parcel of City-owned property on either side of Beacon Avenue South. The site’s other City facilities include Fire Station No. 13, Jefferson Community Center, Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling, the Parks Department Horticulture Facility, and the Beacon Hill North and South Reservoirs, including their shared gatehouse. Exhibiting Colonial Revival stylistic influences, the building features a 1½-story, side gable center block flanked by one-story gabled wings. These wings each have a flat roof block, which extends from the rear west elevation. The block off the south wing was original to the construction of the building, however the block off the north wing was an early addition. Most of the building is clad with a brick veneer. While the painting of this brick exterior has significantly altered the original appearance, the building retains its original multi-paned double hung wooden sash windows. On the principal east elevation of the main block, the original recessed porch has been enclosed with wide cedar siding. The paired columns, which support the overhanging gable roof, are still visible across the front and at the sides. The narrow square columns with small caps separate this elevation into five bays. Large multi-paned windows fill the two southern bays, while three smaller multi-paned double hung windows with shutters are set in the three northern bays. Wide cedar siding clads the gable ends of the main block as well as the shed roof dormer, which lines the roof on the rear west elevation below a large chimney. This dormer has six multi-paned double hung windows along its length. The brick clad rear west elevation of the main block has four window openings at the center. One opening has been infilled but the other three contain the original multi-paned double hung sash. A shed roof at the southern end covers three separate entrance doors. The principal east elevation of the north wing has multi-paned double hung windows flanking a center entrance door covered by a small shed roof. This door replaced the original window in an enlarged opening. The northern end of the elevation has a projecting front gable bay with abbreviated returns. A single multi-paned double hung window is set in an arched opening at the center. The north elevation of this wing has two arched openings with multi-paned double hung windows below a small cupola at the northern end of roof peak. The north and west elevations of the one-story block at the rear have similar multi-paned double hung windows and a single entrance door. A shed roof storage area extends off the block’s south elevation. The principal east elevation of the south wing has a recessed area at the northern end, which contains three multi-paned double hung windows and double entrance doors. A decorative columned arcade covering this recessed area has been removed. The southern end has a single double hung window adjacent to an entrance door. The south elevations of this wing and the one-story block at the rear have a series of arched openings set with multi-paned double hung windows. The rear west elevation of the block has three small window openings across the upper wall. Despite the alterations noted above, this building retains good physical integrity.

Detail for 4101 Beacon AVE / Parcel ID 1624049080 / Inv # DPR040

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Flat, Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition, Unknown
Building Type: Other Plan: Irregular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development, Entertainment/Recreation, Other
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Plan: Moderate
Changes to Original Cladding: Moderate
Major Bibliographic References
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
Sherwood, Don. Seattle Parks Histories, c. 1970-1981, unpublished.
Seattle Department of Parks. Annual report/Department of Parks. Seattle, WA: 1909-1955.

Photo collection for 4101 Beacon AVE / Parcel ID 1624049080 / Inv # DPR040


Photo taken Nov 07, 2000
App v2.0.1.0