| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Swiss Chalet |
Neighborhood: |
Mount Baker |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1922 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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Built in 1922, this building was purchased in December of the same year by James E. and R. M. Dyer. Seattle architect Ellsworth Story designed the residence. The William Kelton Construction Company was the contractor. The value of the building was estimated at $8,500. Earle W. and Arminta V. Zinn moved into the residence ca 1932. Mr. Zinn worked as an insurance broker. Frank M. Dunn bought the residence in April of 1940 for $6600. By 1954, Lydia G. Stevens lived in the building, followed by Harry Jansen by 1958. Mason Irwin purchased the building in June of 1960 for $20,000. In September of 1963, Beverly D. Hamilton purchased the building for $22,800.
The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted 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 residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects.
Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
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| Appearance |
| Built in 1922, this broad, Swiss Chalet-influenced, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Thirty-Fourth Avenue South on a flat site at street level. This 1052 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full daylight basement features a nearly square plan, measuring approximately 30’ by 34’, with a 4’ by 10’ recessed front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad superstructure. Vertical board and batten siding accents the upper portion of the gable end. Wood shingles cover the front gable roof. Scalloped decorative elements form bargeboards along the gable ends. Broadly overhanging eaves and gable ends define the roofline. Wood sash casement windows provide day lighting. A notable front gable end exterior chimney services the building. As an excellent example of Swiss Chalet design influences, this building stands out as unique within the neighborhood. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Shingle, Stucco |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Wood - Shake |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
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Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
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Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."
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