Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 317 Harvard AVE / Parcel ID 685070-0410 / Inv #

Historic Name: Roycroft Apartments Common Name: Roycroft Apartments Style: Spanish - Mission Neighborhood: Capitol Hill Built By: Year Built: 1906   Significance This building is one of the oldest apartments in the area, dating to 1906, during the period before the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Considerable development occurred in Seattle at this time, as the city prepared for the world to visit. The first decades of the 20th century brought significant population growth in the wake of the 1897 Klondike gold rush; 25,000 new residents arrived in the city in just the first three years of the century. Frist Hill/westen Capitol Hill were particularly popular because of their proximity to downtown and easy streetcar access. The Roycroft was designed by Henderson Ryan for owner E. B. Roy; the contractor was N. B. Douglas. Architect Henderson Ryan was educated in Kentucky and arrived in Seattle in 1898 to work as a contractor and builder. He opened an architectural practice in 1900 and was responsible for many notable buildings, often using eclectic and rather exotic styles. His most noted works are two National Register properties (the Maryland Apartments of 1910 and the Ballard Library of 1904), as well as the Neptune Theater (1922) and the Waldorf Hotel (1906, destroyed). He moved to California in 1923.   Appearance This building remains interesting in appearance, despite the fact that its Mission-style parapets have been removed, probably due to earthquake damage. The entry is through a two-story rough stone arch, with a wrought iron balcony extending across it; the archway is topped by a pent roof. The entryway has an oak and glass door and marble floors. The bays that originally had the arched parapets have groups of three arched windows on the third floor, with small wrought iron balconies. The other bays have three sided hanging bay windows on the second and third floors, with three sided turrets at the corners; the conical tops of the turrets have been removed. Cladding is brick, with ashlar stone on the first floor. Windows all have newer sash.

Detail for 317 Harvard AVE / Parcel ID 685070-0410 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Stone Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Clay Tile Building Type: Domestic - Multiple Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Brick No. of Stories: three Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Extensive Major Bibliographic References Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996. Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972. City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.

Photo collection for 317 Harvard AVE / Parcel ID 685070-0410 / Inv #

Photo taken Mar 26, 2006