| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
American Foursquare |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1910 |
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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 1910, Joseph and Mary Covello purchased the building in 1915. They, including Joe Jr., remained in the building through 1961. Mr. Covello worked as a driver. Mr. Covello was born in Italy and lived in the U. S. for 48 years. Mr. Covello was a member of Holy Name Society and the Truck Owners Association. Mr. Covello died in September of 1955 at age of 66. Mary E. was born in New York and died at age 74 in March of 1962. In November of 1961, Clarence H. Osbionsen purchased the building for $11,250. Joseph Covello Jr. purchased the building in April of 1965, then sold it in 1967. About this time, a portion of the building was rented as an apartment under the address of 1501½ Sturgus Avenue South. Herbert H. Babcock lived in this unit in 1957, followed by Mrs. Eda Foster in 1959. The unit was listed as vacant in 1962. In 1964, after the Covello’s, Al Andres lived in 1501, and Gary Carsten lived in 1501½. Polk directories list the building as vacant from 1966 through 1970.
A neighborhood of Italian immigrants and their businesses developed in the North Rainier Valley and northeast Beacon Hill. Starting around 1900, Italian immigrants came to Seattle to work in coal mines and as construction laborers and farmers. The Italian immigrants may have settled in this area because of its inexpensive housing, convenient location near downtown, and potential for small farm plots in the North Rainier Valley. This neighborhood, which became known as “Garlic Gulch” or “Little Italy,” centered on South Atlantic Street and Rainier Avenue South. In 1915, about 200 families lived in a 90-square-block area along Rainier Avenue from Lane Street on the north to Mount Baker Park on the south. Many Italian-owned businesses were located in the area, including food imports, Borracchini’s Bakery, Oberto Sausage Company, produce stands, grocery stores, a nursery (Malmo’s), drug stores, and other shops.
Our Lady of Mount Virgin Catholic Church at 1531 Bradner Place South, built in 1913, was the hub of the Italian community and operated a Catholic School that offered Italian lessons. Most of the remaining structures in the Italian neighborhood were razed during construction of I-90 in the 1970s and 1980s.
Beacon Hill is a long north-south tending ridge located southeast of downtown Seattle and stands 350 feet at its highest point. The hill’s steep topography deterred substantial Euro-American settlement through the early 1880s. Then, development of the area was stimulated by the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1890s, its proximity to Seattle’s main industrial area to the west, and the regrading of the hill’s north end in the early 1900s.
Originally acquired by the City in 1898, Jefferson Park was integrated into Seattle’s Olmsted system of parks, and the Olmsted Brothers prepared a plan for the park in 1912. The first public golf course west of the Mississippi opened at Jefferson Park in 1915. Jefferson Park has exerted a profound positive influence on the development of the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Because of its proximity to the International District, Japanese and Chinese families moved to Beacon Hill starting in the 1920s. World War I and II stimulated a surge in housing development associated with wartime industry. The construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s and Interstate 90 in the 1980s sliced through the neighborhoods and contributed to Beacon Hill’s relative isolation. Today, Beacon Hill is an ethnically diverse working class community, which has a mixed Asian, Chicano, African American, and Caucasian population.
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| Appearance |
| Built in 1910, this Craftsman-influenced, American Foursquare style, two-family dwelling stands on a rectangular corner lot at the intersection of South Atlantic Street and Sturgus Avenue South. The building is oriented to Sturgus Avenue South on a sloped site 2’ to 6’ above street level. This 930 square foot, two-and-a-half story house with a full daylight basement features an essentially square plan, measuring approximately 30’ by 31’, with a 5’ by 31’ two-story front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the pyramidal hip roof and hipped roof front dormer. Broad eave overhangs with exposed rafters define the roofline. Wood sash 1:1 windows provide day lighting. Windows feature painted wood casings. The dormer windows are boarded over. A direct flight of stairs off the sidewalk leads up to the front porch. Separate doors provide access to the first floor and a stairway leading up to the second floor. Wood piers atop a closed wood railing support the porch and extended roofline. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Multiple Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Plan: |
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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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement."
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Nicandri, David L. Italians in Washington State: Emigration 1853-1924. Olympia, WA: Washington State American Revolution Commission, 1978.
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Roe, Nellie Virginia. “The Italian Immigrant in Seattle,” Master of Arts Thesis, University of Washington, 1915.
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