Seattle Historical Sites

This house is significant due to its association with the Arima family and the Japanese American community in Seattle. First, the house functions as a reminder of the early actions by Japanese Americans that contributed to their strength and presence in Seattle. The Arima family’s circulation of the North American Times encouraged the cohesion and self-awareness within their community. Second, the general presence of Japanese American families in this neighborhood contributed to the social and ethnic diversity that currently predominates in Beacon Hill and South Seattle. Finally, the occupants of the house maintained professional practices in the downtown and industrial areas, which signifies the historical role that the Rainier Valley has assumed as a transportation and commercial corridor connecting the residential neighborhoods in South Seattle to downtown, the International District, and the industrial districts.

This single-family residence is located in North Beacon Hill. The house was constructed in 1923 after Ida and Erik Anderson purchased the property in March1911. Mr. Anderson laid floors for Standard Hardwood Floor Company. The 1930 Polk Directory notes that the Anderson family owned other nearby properties and lived at 3020 19^th Avenue South for a period during the early 1930s. While the Andersons resided at a different house from 1935 through 1936, Sumikiyo and Tanaki F. Arima lived in this residence until the Andersons returned in 1937. The Andersons then remained in this house through 1942; and, by 1943, Irene Ball occupied the house. Raymond S. Kent was the primary resident from 1955 through 1961. In September 1964, Paul C. Cabrera purchased the building for $14,500 and remained in the house through 1968.

Sumikiyo Arima was the editor and publisher of the North American Times (Hokubei Jiji), one of two leading Japanese language newspapers in the Nikkei community. The 1934 Polk Directory also lists Sumikiyo as president of the Seattle-Japanese Chamber of Commerce. His son, Sumio, returned to Seattle after studying painting with John Sloan in New York in order to work for the newspaper. Sumikiyo and Tamaki then moved to 4035 Cascadia Avenue South.

Substantial residential and commercial development in Beacon Hill occurred when a transportation corridor connecting the Rainier Valley to Downtown Seattle and Seattle’s industrial district was constructed along Rainier Avenue. Development in the valley was facilitated by logging during the 1880s, the operation of the Rainier Valley Electric Railway in the 1890s, and the Jackson and Dearborn Street re-grades in the 1900s. Milling was the primary commercial industry during the last part of the nineteenth century although some agricultural activity existed. As residential development increased, Rainier Avenue gradually became the principal commercial corridor connecting the residential neighborhoods of South Seattle to downtown, the International District, and Seattle’s industrial districts. World War II brought additional building growth related to the wartime industry, as well as the influx of defense workers to nearby Boeing and the Duwamish shipyards. 

Beacon Hill has historically been a more economically and socially diverse neighborhood than Mount Baker to its east. There was less enforcement of residential deed restrictions and a greater availability of smaller, more affordable housing. One of the first land owners of Beacon Hill was George Riley, an African American from Portland, Oregon. George Riley, organizer of the Workingmen’s Joint Stock Association in Portland, arranged the organization’s purchase of property on Beacon Hill, which was platted in 1871 as Riley’s Addition. Furthermore, the northern end of Rainier Valley, which was originally settled by German immigrants, acquired the historical nickname “Garlic Gulch” during the early twentieth century due to the growing strength and predominance of its Italian American community. 

In addition to the Italian American community in northern Rainier Valley, the Japanese American community grew and expanded southwards to Beacon Hill during the first two decades of the twentieth century as a result of relatively less restrictive immigration laws. While the 1889 Alien Land Laws excluded non-citizens from owning land, they were able to purchase property under the names of their second generation family members. While the Immigration Act of 1924 inhibited further Japanese immigration, they continued to expand their families and businesses in Seattle. However, when President Roosevelt issued his Executive Order 9066 in 1942, the Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest were sent to internment camps and their properties and businesses were usually confiscated. After World War II, formerly incarcerated Japanese Americans returned to Seattle, successfully rebuilding their social networks and businesses and again emerging as a significant force in Seattle.

Beacon Hill’s diverse beginnings were reinforced by its landscape features, including Jefferson Park located at the center of Beacon Hill. Originally named Beacon Hill Park, Jefferson Park has exerted a profoundly positive influence on the development and social cohesion of the Beacon Hill neighborhood through its sustained use by local residents. Originally acquired by the City of Seattle in 1898, it was integrated into Seattle’s Olmsted system of parks. In 1915, the first public golf course west of the Mississippi opened at Jefferson Park. From 1919 to 1941, the year before many Japanese Americans were interned in the Northwest, the Japanese-American Language School in Seattle used the park for its annual picnics. Japanese Golf Association held annual tournaments beginning in 1931. African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Chinese Americans organized golf clubs during the 1940s and 1950s because they were excluded from white clubs; they used Jefferson Park as their home course.

The Jefferson Park community center and golf course remains open to the public and the Beacon Hill neighborhood continues to be an ethnically diverse, working-class community. Its businesses and public spaces, including Jefferson Park and Dr. Jose Rizal Park, reinforce this diversity.

This Colonial Revival–influenced, vernacular house was constructed in 1923. It is located on 19^th Avenue South between South Stevens and South Hanford Streets. The raised lot faces eastwards onto 19^th Avenue South. It is a single-family, one-and-a-half story residence with 1,950 square feet of living space and a daylight basement. Its irregular floor plan and poured concrete foundation support a platform frame superstructure. Wooden steps lead to the entrance on the front elevation, and a brick chimney is located on the north eave wall. The first story is defined by a pent roof while main gambrel-front roof is punctuated on the slope-sides by wide, shed-shaped roof dormers. A thin cornice accents the eaves-line of the dormers and pent roof. Both the pent and gambrel roofs are covered with asphalt composition shingles while the house is clad in wooden shingle and board siding. In general, window surrounds are defined by architraves, and sash retains wooden mullions and muntins. A half-circle window with fan lights punctuates the top of the front gambrel end. The front elevation also has tripartite, ten-over-one hung-sash windows on the second story, while two pairs of ten-over-one hung-sash windows are located directly below on the first story. Fixed 12-lite sash flank the front door and punctuate the south bay window. The fenestration on the side elevations primarily consists of eight-over-one hung-sash windows. While some modifications have been made to this house, it retains many of its original Colonial Revival features, including windows, cladding, chimney, and scale. Therefore, it continues to contribute to the residential character of the Beacon Hill Neighborhood.