Seattle.gov Home Page
Link to Seattle Department of Neighborhoods home page

Seattle Historical Sites

New Search

Summary for 5766 S OAKLAWN PL S / Parcel ID 1102001279 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Seward Park
Built By: Year Built: 1923
 
Significance

This house is significant due to its architectural style and intactness, as well as its occupancy history. The occupants’ professional association with businesses in downtown Seattle reflects the valley’s historical role as a transportation and commercial corridor connecting the residential neighborhoods in South Seattle to downtown and the industrial districts.
This single-family residence is located in Seward Park at the southern end of South Seattle. It was constructed in 1923. In 1940, B. King purchased the house but sold it to George Baum in 1953. From 1956 through 1968, T. Evans and Ann P. Wyckoff owned the house. In 1968, they sold the property; and, by 1969, Harry J. and Bonita Wills were tenants. Harry worked at Modern Shoe Repair downtown. In 1971, James Y. Suzuki purchased the house, and the Suzuki family remains the current owners.

Substantial residential and commercial development in South Seattle and the Rainier Valley occurred when a transportation corridor connecting the Rainier Valley to downtown and Seattle’s industrial district was constructed along Rainier Avenue during the late nineteenth century. 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. 

The Rainier Valley remains a crucial corridor uniting the neighborhoods of South Seattle and connecting them to downtown, Seattle’s industrial districts, and the International District.

 
Appearance
The sloping lot for this single-family residence is located where South Oaklawn Place terminates at Lake Washington. It was platted for Brighton Beach, and the Tudor-style house was constructed in 1923. The house faces south towards South Oaklawn Place and is surrounded by a large yard with a driveway and sunken garage on the east side of the property. Its irregular floor plan supports a platform-framed superstructure. The two-and-a-half story house has 4,360 square feet of living space. The principal roof shape is defined by a steeply pitched cross-gable with a multi-level flared-eaves overhanging. A gabled wall dormer is located on the front facade. Gable ends have decorative barge boards, and the entire roof system is covered by asphalt composition shingles. The house has brick cladding along the first story and stucco with decorative half-timbering in the upper stories. A chimney with three square shafts is located at the front of the house, and windows are generally tripartite hung-sash. This is an excellent example of the Tudor style. Many features remain intact, including the roofline, windows, entryway, cladding, and half-timbering. The house not only represents an important architectural style, but its intactness also makes it integral to the character of the Seward Park neighborhood.

Detail for 5766 S OAKLAWN PL S / Parcel ID 1102001279 / Inv # 0

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick, Wood Foundation(s): Unknown
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Irregular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two & ½
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Interior: Unknown
Other: Intact
Major Bibliographic References
Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
Dorpat, Paul, “101 The Railroad Avenue Elevated,” Seattle, Now and Then, Seattle: Tartu Publications, 1984.
Bagley, Clarence B. History of Seattle, Washington. Chicago: S.J. Clarke, 1916.
Berner, Richard. Seattle 1921-1940: From Boom to Bust. Seattle: Charles Press, 1992.

Photo collection for 5766 S OAKLAWN PL S / Parcel ID 1102001279 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Jan 07, 2010

Photo taken Jan 07, 2010

Photo taken Jan 07, 2010

Photo taken Jan 07, 2010

Photo taken Jan 07, 2010

Photo taken Jan 07, 2010

Photo taken Jan 07, 2010

Photo taken Jan 07, 2010
App v2.0.1.0