Seattle Historical Sites

This house is significant due to its architectural merit as a Arts & Crafts, American Foursquare–style residence that remains intact.

This single-family residence is located in Mount Baker. It was constructed in 1912 at a cost of $8,400. The first owner was John Zwickey; however, William H. and Corinne Anderson purchased the building in 1924. The Anderson’s resided previously at 3333 Hunter Boulevard South. Dr. Anderson was a physician with an office in the Medical and Dental Building. In 1926, Dr. Anderson hired the contractor, John Zurcky, to repair the roof. By 1954, Marguerete E. Elferdahl lived in the building, followed by Hershal D. Wandling, Jr. by 1958. James F. Wochter purchased the property in April of 1966 for $23,350 and remained there through 1969.

The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred early in the twentieth century, relatively later than the Rainier Valley and Downtown Seattle areas. Development was initially impeded by Mount Baker’s geography during the mid-nineteenth century and was then stimulated by the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway along the Rainier Valley in the 1890s. The streetcar was paramount in facilitating travel to downtown Seattle.

The platting of Mount Baker occurred in three phases or additions: the York Addition in 1903 by George M. and Martha Taggart, the Dose Addition in 1906 by Charles P. Dose, and the Mount Baker Park Addition 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 subdivisions and was established as a residential neighborhood for upper-income White families. The Hunter Tract development company targeted these families by adopting deed restrictions and setting minimum size and price standards for each house. The careful design of the Mount Baker Park Addition’s lots, streets, boulevards, and parks reinforced its exclusivity. However, the platting and landscape plans of George F. Cotterill and Edward O. Schwagerl were significant as they integrated the hill’s natural topography into their design. In doing so, they honored the ideals of Seattle’s Olmsted System and the local government’s city planning efforts.

The houses in Mount Baker were primarily built between 1905 and 1929. They reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles and include designs by many prominent local architects. When the Open Housing Ordinance was passed by the Seattle City Council in 1968, the ability of non-whites to relocate to Mount Baker substantially increased. Today, the neighborhood is home to a more ethnically diverse population than in the past. This middle- to upper-income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, and it retains much of its planned character.

Constructed in 1912, this Arts & Crafts, American Foursquare–style, single-family dwelling stands on a hillside, rectangular lot at the intersection of Mount Saint Helens Place and South McClellan Street. The street-level front entrance is oriented eastwards, towards Mount Saint Helens Place. This 1,220 square foot, two-and-a-half story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 30’ by 34’, with a 30’ by 8’ front porch. A short flight of stairs leads to the front porch. Brick piers with an ornamental brick railing running between them support stucco-clad piers. These piers carry the porch roof and second-story balcony. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick veneer- (first story) and stucco- (upper stories) clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof and gable roof dormers. Plain broadly overhanging eaves define the main roofline with decoratively cut bargeboards in the dormer gable ends. A contemporary railing skirts the second-story balcony. Tripartite windows punctuate the first and second story of the front facade, while a four-part window punctuates the front gable roof dormer. The front tripartite windows are composed of six-over-one hung-sash windows that flank a larger eight-over-one fixed sash window; they have wooden casements, mullions, and muntins. The windows along the side facades have arched brick lintels and rectangular wood casements. They are either six-over-one hung-sash windows or one-over-one fixed sash windows. The hung-sash windows in the south and north gable ends have diamond lights in the upper sash. The house retains its American Foursquare and Prairie stylistic features, including windows, cladding, porch, and roofline. Therefore, it continues to contribute to the residential character of the Mount Baker neighborhood.