Seattle.gov Home Page
Link to Seattle Department of Neighborhoods home page

Seattle Historical Sites

New Search

Summary for 3721 39th AVE / Parcel ID 8121101290 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Colonial - Colonial Revival Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1905
 
Significance
Built in 1905, the residence underwent an interior remodel in 1919. James A. and Mamie I. Wheeler resided in the building by 1931 through 1943. Mr. Wheeler worked as a solicitor for the Northwest Meeting Company. V. K. Atkins bought the building in March of 1947 for $10,500. In February of 1953, Richard J. Brownell bought the building for $9500 and resided in the house until 1955. Max Willner purchased the building in November of 1955 for $11,250. Phillip V. Taggart purchased the building in January of 1956 for $12,250 and remained through 1965. By 1968, Peter E. Padget lived in the building. In December of 1972, the building sold again. The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted in 1907 by the Hunter Tract Improvement Company. The Mount Baker Park Addition represents the core of the neighborhood and is its primary character-defining feature. Mount Baker Park is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects. Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
 
Appearance
Built in 1905, this compact, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling is oriented to Thirty-Ninth Avenue South on a flat site 3’ above street level. This 1281 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a half daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 24’ by 36’, with a small front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the side gable roof and extended shed roof dormer. Broad, open eave and gable overhangs with exposed rafters and brackets define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-lite casement windows provide day lighting. A gabled stoop roof supported on clustered posts shelters the front stoop. A gable end brick chimney services the building.

Detail for 3721 39th AVE / Parcel ID 8121101290 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle Foundation(s): Unknown
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):
Integrity
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Plan: 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. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 3721 39th AVE / Parcel ID 8121101290 / Inv #


Photo taken Nov 12, 2003

Photo taken Nov 12, 2003
App v2.0.1.0