Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 2204 E John ST E / Parcel ID 0955000120 / Inv #

Historic Name: Anderson, Dorothy, House #2 Common Name: Style: Queen Anne Neighborhood: Capitol Hill Built By: Year Built: 1890   Significance This is a good example of a vernacular Queen Anne-style house, a simple version of the architectural style that was popular in the late 19th century. It is an early house for the area; althoguh the building permit has not been located, the King Count Assessor gives a construction date of 1890. It is one of two similar houses in the block, most likely built by a carpenter for sale and perhaps based on a pattern book design. The house appears to be largely intact; some of the ornamentation has probably been replaced in kind over the years. The original ornament in the gable end is no longer there, and the front door has been replaced with simpler, but compatible, style. The builder and original owner are not known; the first identified owner was Dorothy Anderson, who purchased it in 1932. She also owned the house next door. This area was one of the first parts of Capitol Hill to develop, encouraged by easy access and small lots suitable for affordable housing for working and middle class homeowners. Early streetcar service to this vicinity began with the Union Trunk Line in 1891, with improved service in 1901 with the Seattle Electric Company’s City Park Line providing direct service down Pike Street to downtown. To improve water service, the city built the Lincoln Reservoir near Denny Way and 11th Avenue East in 1901, adding a playground (now called Cal Anderson Park) in 1907. The 1902 opening of the city’s first high school, Broadway High School at Broadway and East Pine Street, engendered further development as well. Soon Broadway was a thriving commercial district, and more single family homes, apartment buildings, churches and other institutions followed.   Appearance The two-story house has a shallow gable-and-wing form, with an ornamented gabled section with a plain gabled two-story rear section. It has rustic cladding with shingles in the gable end. The entry, at the southeast, has a simple attached porch with a gabled roof supported by turned posts. It has spindlework across the top, simple stickwork in the gable end, plain square balusters and decorative bargeboards with medallions. The door has a transom window above it. South of the entry is a three-sided cutaway bay with a Queen Anne-style stained glass central window; a second, smaller, stained glass window is on the east elevation. Above are a pair of narrow one-over-one wood windows, with similar windows on the other elevations.

Detail for 2204 E John ST E / Parcel ID 0955000120 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle, Wood - Shiplap Foundation(s): Concrete - Block 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 Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Windows: Slight Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Major Bibliographic References Williams, Jacqueline B. The Hill with a Future: Seattle's Capitol Hill 1900-1946. Seattle: CPK Ink, 2001. Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996. King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972. City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.

Photo collection for 2204 E John ST E / Parcel ID 0955000120 / Inv #

Photo taken Oct 03, 2006