Residential Ballard is generally described as extending from the 8th Avenue NW to the east and the bluff to the west, and from NW 85th Street on the north to NW 65th Street to the south. The area primarily contains single family houses, but also includes a collection of mutli-family dwellings, commercial buildings, schools, churches, and other buildings. Most of the historic buildings in Ballard are modest cottages and builder's houses, and were not architect-designed. Building styles include, but are not limited to, Victorian (primarily Queen Anne), vernacular, Craftsman, American Foursquare, Colonial Revival (including variations), Tudor Revival, Minimal Traditional, and Ranch. The historic building fabric of Ballard is threatened by a rapid pace of development.
The City of Ballard was incorporated in 1890. It was the first community to incorporate after Washington achieved statehood in 1889. Although population increased rapidly, north Ballard was still relatively rural. In 1907, primarily due to lack of adequate water for its population of 15,000, Ballard citizens voted to be annexed to Seattle to ensure a good water supply for the area.
After annexation Ballard’s street names were changed to conform to Seattle’s: Ship Street turned into 65th Street, Main Street became 15th Avenue. During the Great Depression and World War II, construction in Ballard nearly ground to a halt, with the exception of some houses built by Earl F. Mench. However, following World War II, fueled by the G.I. bill and the rise of the automobile, Ballard boomed again, and new housing followed. In recent years, the demand for new housing has spurred a tremendous amount of change in Ballard, with old, modest houses being replaced by large box houses and multi-family units. These changes threaten to alter the character and feeling of this historic neighborhood.
References:
Ballard Historical Society Classic Home Tour guides.
Crowley, Walt. Seattle Neighborhoods: Ballard--Thumbnail History. HistoryLink File # 983, accessed 6/1/16.
King County Tax Assessor Records, 1937-2014.
McAlester, Virginia Savage.
A Field Guide to American Houses (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Alfred A> Knopf Press, 2013.
Oschsner, Jeffrey Karl
Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle, WA: University of
Washington Press, 1994.
Passport to Ballard: The Centennial Story. Seattle, WA: Ballard News Tribune, 1988.
This home had a long run with its original owner and his family, the builder George J. Pehling and his wife Anna. Before this home was completed in 1942 the Pehlings lived a bit north and George was President of the Olympic View Community Club. They had a daughter Betty and two sons. Betty graduated from BHS and married in 1948 at the age of 18. She was divorced two years later and returned to live with her parents until she remarried in 1957. Her father George had moved to Seattle in 1903 from South Dakota. He was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge #170 and the Rebekah Lodge # 217. He died in 1963. Anna Pehling died in 1982 (at the age of 95) and was listed in The Seattle Times as former Grand Noble of the Salmon Bay Rebekah Lodge.
Per the City Directory Theodore M. Kylen, a longtime Ballardite listed as working with U.S. Plywood had purchased the home by 1958. He and his wife Ethel appear to have divorced in 1945, remarried and divorced again in 1958 (Seattle Daily Times). In 1963 he was fined $165 for drunk driving and failure to yield. It’s unknown how long Kylen owned the home after 1963.
