Seattle Historical Sites

This house is significant due to its association with Paul C. Horiuchi, an important figure in Seattle’s Japanese American and Northwest artistic communities.

This single-family residential property is located in Mount Baker. It was constructed in 1921 and was owned by Robert C. Ronald from 1937 through 1939. By 1941, Carl T. and Wilma M. Mozzone were occupants. The Mozzones lived in the house through 1944. In 1948, Felix and Cecil Hasi lived at the house. In 1952, Paul C. Horiuchi and his wife Bernadette purchased the property. The Horiuchis sold the house in 1966 and moved to 9773 Arrowsmith Avenue South in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. Nick Rodriquez then lived in the house through 1969. In 1967, a permit was issued to alter a dormer window; and, in 1970, the existing front deck was first added.

Paul Chikamasa Horiuchi was born on April 12, 1906 in Oishi, Japan. He died in August 1999 of complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Paul was a Japanese American painter and owner of Tozai Art, an antique shop and painting studio in downtown Seattle. Paul began developing his artistic skills at an early age in Japan. He studied calligraphy, as well as sumi techniques under the artist, Iketani. He won a second prize in a nationwide competition for a landscape painting when he was 13 years old. In 1917, when Paul was 15 years old, he immigrated to the United States and worked on the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming with his father. He met his future wife, Bernadette Suda, in 1934 on a trip to Seattle to visit local artists Kenjiro Nomura and Kamekichi Tokita. On June 11, 1935, Paul and Bernadette were married at Maryknoll Church, and they were the first Japanese Catholics to be married in Seattle. The couple had three children: Jon, Vincent, and Paul M., Jr. While the Horiuchis were not incarcerated during World War II, Paul was fired from his railroad job and spent several years working odd jobs. The family relocated to Seattle in 1944, and Paul established Horiuchi's Body and Fender Shop in Downtown Seattle. Paul became increasingly well known for his artwork and active in the Northwest artist community. He received awards and honors in exhibitions around the Northwest and was friends with many prominent local artists, including Mark Tobey and John Matsudaira. In 1951, he opened Tozai Art, where he sold antiques as well as his own artwork. In the early 1950s, he was one of four Japanese American artists featured at the Zoe Dusanne Gallery, Seattle’s first professional Modern Art gallery. His first solo exhibition was held at the Dusanne Gallery in May 1957. Paul’s artistic style developed into abstract compositions using collage techniques.

The elevated, rectangular lot for this single-family residence was originally platted for the Prospect Terrace Second Addition and is located between South Atlantic and South Massachusetts Streets. Constructed in 1921, this vernacular, Craftsman-style influenced house faces eastwards onto 32^nd Avenue South. It is one-and-a-half stories with an irregular floor plan, 1,230 square feet of living space, and an additional 550 square foot daylight basement. The poured concrete foundation supports a platform-framed superstructure while a partial-width elevated porch is located on the front elevation and is supported by wood posts. Concrete stairs lead up the lot’s steep incline to the front entrance on the north elevation. The side-gable roof is punctuated by a shed-shaped roof dormer that faces eastwards towards the street. Asphalt composition shingles cover the roof while moderately overhanging eaves define the main roofline and are supported by simple, triangular knee braces. The house is clad in wood shingle siding. Many of its original wood casings and some of its original hung-sash windows are extant. This house retains its historical architectural characteristics as a vernacular, Craftsman-influenced house and, therefore, remains integral to the residential character of Mount Baker.