Seattle Historical Sites

This residence is significant due to its association with the Horiuchi family members, who became important figures in Seattle’s Japanese American and Northwest art communities.

This single-family residence is located in Mount Baker and was constructed in 1921. From 1931 through 1942, Henry B. and Louise Janet Dugdale were the principal occupants. The 1948 Polk Directory lists Emanuel Deter as resident and from 1951 through 1959; the Humes lived in the house. The house was then vacant for a period from 1960. In 1961, Paul M. and Allene Horiuchi purchased the house. The Horiuchi family remained residents through 1968; and, by 1969, Vernice L. and Shirley A. Haddix occupied the house.

The 1965 Polk Directory lists Paul. M. Horiuchi as a draftsman at Boeing. His father, Paul Chikamasa Horiuchi, was born on April 12, 1906 in Oishi, Japan. He died in August 1999 from complications with 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. While in Japan, he studied calligraphy, as well as sumi techniques under artist Iketani. He also entered a national competition when he was 13 years and won second prize for his landscape painting. 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 artist friends Kenjiro Nomura and Kamekichi Tokita. On June 11, 1935, Paul and Bernadette were married at Maryknoll Church in Seattle but then returned to Wyoming. 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 in Wyoming 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 during this time and was very engaged with 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; and, by the end of his working career, he was extremely well respected.

The elevated rectangular lot for this single-family residence is located between South Atlantic Street and South Massachusetts Streets and was originally platted for the Prospect Terrace Second Addition. This vernacular, Craftsman-style influenced house was constructed in 1921 and faces eastwards onto 32^nd Avenue South. It is one-and-a-half stories with 960 square feet of living space and an additional 640 square foot daylight basement. The poured concrete foundation supports a platform-framed superstructure. Asphalt composition shingles cover the side-gabled roof. Moderately overhanging eaves with exposed false rafters and supporting triangular knee braces define the main roofline. The roof is punctuated by a shed-shaped roof dormer that faces eastwards towards the street. A brick chimney abuts the south gable wall. The house is clad in wood board siding along the first story and wood shingles on the dormer walls. Original wood casings 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.