Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 2114 Western AVE / Parcel ID 1977200540 / Inv #

Historic Name: Rainier Boarding and Livery Stable/ Armory Garage Common Name: Elliott Bay Bicycles Style: Other, Queen Anne - Richardsonian Romanesque Neighborhood: Downtown Urban Center Built By: Year Built: 1902   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). Although not sufficiently intact to be considered by itself for the National Register of Historic Places or as a City of Seattle landmark, this building is of historical interest. According to King County Tax Assessor’s records, it was completed in 1902. It first served as a livery stable and is shown on the 1905 Baist Map. A 1909 photograph shows that at that time it housed the “Rainier Boarding and Livery Stable,” and that it was owned by one B. T. Tilton. The building stands out because of the Victorian nature of its façade, marked by segmental arched openings, as well as brick ornamentation, used to create additional horizontal and vertical elements. Like the more elegantly designed Union Stables building, located not far away on the northeast corner of Western Avenue and Blanchard Street and completed in 1908, it too has a central, raised triangular parapet. In 1905, before Elliott Avenue was extended back to intersect with Western Avenue at Lenora Street, there were also two livery stables at the northwest corner of Western Avenue and Blanchard Street. According to a photo from 1936, the ground level once had a large, central segmental arched doorway, flanked to each side by two segmental openings similar to those at the second level. By 1936, like many early livery stable buildings, it had been transformed into a garage, the “Armory Garage.” At least by that time, the more modest garage building was associated with the imposing National Guard Armory building, famous for its turrets and crenellated parapet walls. The Armory had originally been built in 1909 and stood on the block south of the livery stable/ garage building, on the west side of Western Avenue, between Lenora and Virginia Streets. (It was demolished in 1968). Changes to the ground level storefronts of the former livery stable were made to the north and central bays for the Peerless Pacific Company in the late 1940s, based on drawings by architect Carl U. Collins from October 7, 1948. The garage door was added to the south bay in 1953, when the building housed the “Thermal Supply Company.” Although by no means intact, the building appears to be older than its 1902 date and retains enough of its Victorian brickwork and detailing to be considered significant. It is also a good example of an early brick clad livery stable, which has been transformed to various uses over the years. The overall design of this building also had an influence on its neighbor located to the south at 2110 Western Avenue. That building, now significantly altered, was completed in 1923 and originally also had a central, raised triangular parapet. The general composition of the façade of the later building, although altered, also seems to have been influenced by the design of 2114 Western Avenue.   Appearance This two story building is not far from the Pike Place Market and was formerly even closer to the now demolished National Guard Armory, once located between Lenora and Virginia Streets. Despite the changes to the ground level, which are both more than fifty years old, the main façade has kept elements which mark it as one of the few vestiges of simple Victorian utilitarian architecture, which can still be found on Western Avenue, north of the Pike Place Market; however, changes to the exterior are extensive enough that the building by itself would not be eligible for the National Register or as a City of Seattle landmark. The building has a distinctive brick clad façade, set along Western Avenue. The top of the façade is characterized by a central, triangular, raised parapet, which marks the central bay. There is also a shallow, recessed rectangle within the raised parapet. Below this, but above the second level, are a variety of corbelled brick courses, which run horizontally across the length of the façade. Below the corbelled, horizontal bands, at the second level, the wider central bay has three well-spaced pairs of smaller segmental arched window openings. To each side of the central bay, is a very shallow buttress form, which ends somewhat abruptly above the ground floor openings, also in corbelling. The central bay is flanked to each side by a bay with one single, segmental arched opening. All second level windows appear to be double-hung aluminum windows, which, are however, set in original wood frames (or sympathetically restored frames. Original windows were also double-hung). The three bays at the ground level date from a period later than the 1900s, with the two north bays modified in the late 1940s and the south bay modified in 1953. The central storefront had a wood frame with three vertical panes parallel to the street. Placed in the south portion of this first floor opening, there are also two concrete steps which lead to a recessed door. The north bay has a similar storefront, without an entry, while the south bay features a large opening with a garage door, in addition to a regular sized door set to the south of the garage opening.

Detail for 2114 Western AVE / Parcel ID 1977200540 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: INV Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Transportation - Road- Related Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Masonry - Unreinforced No. of Stories: two Unit Theme(s): Commerce, Transportation Integrity Changes to Windows: Moderate Changes to Original Cladding: Slight Storefront: Moderate Changes to Plan: Intact Major Bibliographic References City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records. King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996. Sheridan, Mimi. “SR 99: Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Project Historic Resources Inventory.” Draft, ca. 2004. Baist, William. Baist’s Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Wash. Philadelphia: W. G. Baist, 1905, 1908 and 1912. “Armory.” “Seattle City Clerk’s Thesaurus.” Database available at Dorpat, Paul. “An Unarmed Guard,” “Now and Then,” Seattle Times, Pacific Northwest Magazine. Database available at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2002/0630/nowthen.html. James P. Lee, photographer, “Businesses at 2108-2116 Western Avenue, Seattle,” photograph, May 19, 1909, Negative No.: Lee 29, James P. Lee Photograph Collection, PH Coll 294, University of Washington Libraries and Special Collections.

Photo collection for 2114 Western AVE / Parcel ID 1977200540 / Inv #

Photo taken Feb 09, 2006