Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 1015 E Prospect ST E / Parcel ID 2663000245 / Inv #

Historic Name: Hurlbut, Frederick R., House Common Name: Style: Arts & Crafts - Prairie Style, Tudor Neighborhood: Capitol Hill Built By: Year Built: 1914   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). This house was designed by Andrew Willatsen in 1914 for Frederick W. Hurlbut, of the Speiger and Hurlbut department store. Although Willatsen is best known for his Prairie School designs, he worked in a variety of styles through his long career. This one combines basic elements of the Tudor Revival, such as half timbering, with distinctly Prairie influenced windows. Andrew Willatsen came to the United States from Germany in 1900, working first as a carpenter. In about 1902 he began work at Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio, where he remained intermittently until 1907. This was the studio’s most creative period, and he had the opportunity to work on such well-known buildings as the Darwin Martin house in Buffalo and the Larkin Building. In 1907 he moved to Spokane, and the following year came to Seattle as a representative of Cutter and Malmgren to supervise construction of the Seattle Golf Club. In1909 he formed a partnership with Barry Byrne. They completed the Northwest’s most prominent Prairie style works, including the Handschy House, a designated landmark on Queen Anne, The partnership dissolved in 1913, but Willatsen remained in practice until 1959, designing eclectic houses and commercial buildings as well as those such as this one that show the Prairie influence. This stretch of Federal Avenue is a tree-lined avenue with a fine collection of large homes, designed by major local architects for some of Seattle’s leading families. The street was well located for development, as it is only one block from the Broadway/10th Avenue streetcar line and the open space of Volunteer Park and Lakeview Cemetery is nearby. Although the southern two blocks were platted as part of the 1883 Phinney’s Addition, little development occurred until the first decade of the 20th century, about the time that Volunteer Park was redesigned by the Olmsted Brothers. The landscape architecture firm continually encouraged the city to purchase the property on the west side of the park, so that it would extend all the way to the street; obviously, this was never done.   Appearance This house is a simple Tudor revival structure, with distinctive Prairie School windows. The 2-1/2 story house has a side gable form with a large gabled entry bay at the center entry, with a matching dormer on the rear (south) side. Cladding is clinker brick on the first story and stucco with half timbering above. The entry is distinctive, with a simplified arch and wide surround of cast concrete. The door has a Prairie style linear mullion pattern, which is repeated, with variations, on all the windows. Two narrow windows and two large three-part windows flank the doorway. Above is a bank of four windows set into a shallow half timbered bay, supported by brackets. Other second story windows are similar, mostly arranged singly. The third story windows in the front gable extend at an angle into the gable, another Prairie style design element. The west gable end has a group of three windows, and the east end has two windows fitted around the chimney. The east end of the house, on the corner, has a gabled one-story wing, with banks of windows.

Detail for 1015 E Prospect ST E / Parcel ID 2663000245 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Stucco Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Wood - Shingle Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: three Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Major Bibliographic References Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996. Woodbridge, Sally and Roger Montgomery. A Guide to Architecture in Washington State. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1980. Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.

Photo collection for 1015 E Prospect ST E / Parcel ID 2663000245 / Inv #

Photo taken Nov 26, 2005