| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Italian - Italian Renaissance |
Neighborhood: |
Leschi |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1905 |
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| Significance |
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This structure has evolved into an example of American Renaissance design. However, the structure’s design integrity has been compromised by removal of the original projecting porch, the replacement of some windows, and a number of modifications to the facades.
This is one of approximately 2,200 houses that are still extant out of more than 5,000 that were built by the end of 1906 in Seattle’s Central Area, Eastlake, First Hill, Leschi, Madison Park, Madrona, and North Capitol Hill neighborhoods.
A complete permit history, and a complete record of ownership and occupation have not yet been prepared for this property; however, the house appears to have been owned by Louise A. Nye in 1938.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
King County GIS Center Property Report (http://www5.kingcounty.gov/kcgisreports/property_report.aspx; accessed July 12, 2008)
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972) Washington State Archives
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| Appearance |
This is a two story, clapboard clad, wood frame single-family residence on a concrete foundation, over a half basement.
The building plan is essentially rectangular, despite some minor irregularities at the northwest corner (not easily observed from the street), and is capped by a hip roof with fairly extensive overhangs and enclosed soffits.
The original projecting porch would have given the structure a somewhat foursquare, even Prairie style appearance. However, the windows and doors are characterized by patterns and details that could just as easily be associated with Colonial Revival or Georgian architecture; the minimal casings are suggestive of masonry rather than wood cladding. Shutters flanked the windows for a time after World War II, accentuating the colonial character of the facade. However, the slight flare of the the hip roof, together with the relatively wide overhangs decorated with modillions and the three bay symmetry and decorative restraint of the facade are suggestive of American (i.e., Italian) Renaissance design.
This house was built in 1905. The King County Property Record Card indicates that the building was remodeled around 1945.
The original projecting front porch, a structure that was centered on the east facade and featured an integrated hip roof and roof deck (supported by elaborate, built-up wood piers) was removed prior to 1957. This change also resulted in the "filling" of a recess in the facade at the second floor that had provided access to the roof deck. A wide, centered, front-facing, hip roofed dormer was also removed prior to 1957.
Most of the double hung windows appear to be original; however, the central unit in the main facade was added in the process of filling the second floor recess. The ganged windows, organized in groups of thre either side of the main entry recess, replace large, twenty-light (5 x 4) windows that occupied those positions in the mid 1950s.
The original clapboard siding appears to remain; however, a series of patches and other modifications must have been necessary in order to accommodate the numerous changes to the facades visible from the street. Properly proportioned shutters, added to most of the windows and to the sidelights either side of the the main entry door in the 1940s or 1950s, have more recently been removed.
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