| Historic Name: |
J.B. Hardcastle Apartment Building |
Common Name: |
Chelsea Station |
| Style: |
Colonial - Georgian Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Fremont |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1927 |
| |
| Significance |
|
|
|
This small apartment house is a relatively well-preserved example of residential scale apartment house design executed in the Colonial Revival style, a particularly popular design mode during the 1920s. According to Seattle building permit records (#271717) this was one of two small adjacent apartment buildings designed by William Whiteley for developer J.B. Hardcastle and constructed by Victor F. Sandberg. The permit for the two apartment buildings was issued on October 19, 1927. The floor plan for each building and the masonry veneer treatment are virtually identical; however the exterior of the other building was executed in a contrasting Tudor/English cottage and French/Normandy farmhouse inspired design mode. The permit for the construction of a freestanding one-story, six-car brick masonry garage building – located between the two buildings - was subsequently issued on October 28, 1927. Construction appears to have been completed in April 1928. Jerome B. Hardcastle (b. 1850) was born in Illinois and appears to have migrated to Seattle by way of Boulder, Colorado and Chehalis, Washington where he was employed as a building contractor and house carpenter. He was residing in Colorado by the late 1880s and in Chehalis by 1910. The 1920 US census indicates that he was employed as a house carpenter. In 1925, he is known to have formed the Western Building & Leasing Company – a real estate development company - with partner Frederick Anhalt. The Polk’s Seattle City Directory (1927, 1928) indicates that Hardcastle and Anhalt were operating the Western Building & Leasing Company together out of offices located in the White-Henry-Stuart Building. Among their earliest projects was the Cora M. Graham mixed use (retail/apartment) building on Beacon Hill (1926). That project – like the subject building and several other projects – was designed by William Whiteley and constructed by Victor F. Sandberg. Whitely also designed the Anderson’s Bakery (Banks & Mock’s Bakery) on Queen Anne constructed in 1926 and other small market buildings in Ballard, Greenwood and West Seattle for the firm. The firm’s first bungalow court was developed in 1926 on Beacon Hill; it was designed in an English Cottage style with brick and half-timbered accents. A second bungalow court was constructed on Queen Anne Hill (now demolished) during this period; it was designed in an English Cottage style and exhibited the same distinctive brick masonry treatment as the subject building. An additional larger apartment house project at 1710 E. Denny was executed in a Medieval English style and included the same distinctive brickwork. The firm is also known to have developed several Mediterranean-style courtyard apartments also designed by Whiteley including the Seville Court (1927). Given that Hardcastle (with the Western Building & Leasing Company address listed), Whiteley and Sandberg are all listed on the permit records and that the subject building design is very similar to prior firm projects; it seems likely that the it were developed by the Hardcastle-Anhalt firm, which did not dissolve until sometime in 1928. Frederick Anhalt (1896-1996) became one of Seattle’s best-known apartment developers, bringing a distinctive sense of style and promoting high-quality apartments as an alternative to single-family homes. His buildings are seen as having set the standard for pre-war apartment buildings and have become almost synonymous with the type. Anhalt was only involved with apartment development for approximately five years (1925-1930) and worked through at least three different business entities in that time. His approach was to combine the development, design, construction, landscaping, marketing and management functions within one firm. Anhalt moved to Seattle about 1924 after working in various trades in the Midwest, and in 1925 formed the Western Building & Leasing Company with partner Jerome B. Hardcastle, Jr. [Hardcastle is believed to have developed apartment buildings on his own, both during and after his partnership with Anhalt.] The company quickly began to centralize both design and construction within the firm, and built bungalow courts, apartment courts and small commercial buildings on Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, West Seattle, Beacon Hill and Ballard. In 1928 Anhalt bought Hardcastle’s interest in the firm and subsequently designed and constructed apartment buildings for The Borchert Company (owned by Anhalt’s brother-in-law). The following year the firm (then known as the Anhalt Company) decided to increase profits by focusing on the higher end market and began to develop highly distinctive Tudor and Norman French courtyard apartments. In 1929-1930 his best known projects were constructed - five luxury apartment buildings located on Capitol Hill with elaborate designs based on Medieval English and Norman French prototypes. Although the apartment business failed during the Depression, Anhalt was involved in single-family construction until 1942, when he turned his focus to a plant nursery business. [This information provided courtesy of Mimi Sheridan.] Victor F. Sandberg (c.1882-1966) was born in Wasa, Finland and came to Seattle in 1905. He worked as a building contractor until 1940 and appears to have been involved with numerous Hardcastle and Anhalt projects. William Whiteley (1892-1974) is best known for his later work with Frederick Anhalt, especially courtyard apartments in variations of the Mediterranean Revival style, including: La Quinta (1927) on Capitol Hill and Seville Court, Barcelona Court (1927) and Franca Villa (1930) on Queen Anne. Montrose Court (1927) and Rosina Court (1928) show Tudor influences, while Briar Crest (1928), Olympus Manor, the Martha Lee (1930), the Catalina (1930), and the buildings at 411 E. Republican (1926) and 432 Bellevue E. (1928) are more typical apartment blocks. He also worked with Frederick Anhalt and J.B. Hardcastle on their early market buildings in neighborhood commercial districts, including the Cora M. Graham Store Building (1926) on Beacon Hill and a bungalow court (1926-27) in West Seattle. In 1935, after apartment development had virtually halted due to the Depression, Whiteley joined with Anhalt in forming the Architectural Services Inc., which designed and built homes and sold sets of house plans throughout the country. During the late 1930s Anhalt and Whitely developed speculative residential properties including a set of ‘twin houses” with reversed floor plans at 927 10th Avenue E on Capitol Hill. [This information provided courtesy of Mimi Sheridan.]
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| Prominently located at the SW corner of the intersection of Linden Avenue N. and N. 50th St. with front elevation oriented to the east. Two story, brick veneer and wood-frame, 4-unit apartment house that is used as a bed and breakfast business. Exhibits side-gable residential design with distinctive Colonial Revival design elements/features. Measures approx. 36’ x 46’ with concrete foundation and basement level. Exhibits a symmetrical building form; the interior is divided symmetrically with two matching apartment units at the main and upper floor levels that flank a central entry vestibule and stairwell. The entrance porch projects from the center of the façade and is distinguished by sets of corner columns surmounted by an entablature element that serves as a second floor level balcony. The porch columns appear to have been altered (possibly replaced) by the addition of a solid guardrail along the front of the porch. The exterior walls are entirely clad with ornate variegated brick veneer laid with a skintled diamond pattern. The fenestration pattern is entirely symmetrical with window set in individual openings; multi-pane double-hung sash members appear to include original leaded glass glazing. Existing wrought iron railings at the entry and upper porch appear to be original; however, some modern wrought iron and other modern site features have been added. The distinctive original leaded glass sidelights and segmental arched transom remain in place; the entry door does not appear to be original. |
|
|
| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Brick |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition-Shingle |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Multiple Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture |
| Integrity |
|
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Interior: |
Unknown |
|
| Major Bibliographic References |
|
Kreisman, Lawrence. Apartments by Anhalt. Seattle: Kreisman Exhibit Design, 1978.
|
|
Architects file cards, Seattle Department of Neighborhood, Historic Preservation Program.
|
|
King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
|
|
City of Seattle DPD Microfilm Records.
|
|
Polk's Seattle Directories, 1910-1940.
|
|
|
