| Historic Name: |
Sigma Kappa Sorority |
Common Name: |
Sigma Kappa Sorority |
| Style: |
Other |
Neighborhood: |
University |
| Built By: |
Joseph L. Skoog, architect |
Year Built: |
1930 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. |
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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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In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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This Norman country house style sorority house, designed by Joseph L. Skoog, includes a relatively compatible 1961 addition, plainer in style with different windows. This addition was designed by Waldron & Dietz and Joseph Skoog. Although the style is somewhat unique among the Greek Row structures, the Norman-influenced style relates well to the nearby Collegiate Gothic style buildings on campus and on 17th Avenue NE. Norman Johnston has called the building "a free, Romantic interpretation of Collegiate Gothic".
Sigma Kappa was started at Colby College in Maine in 1874, and was incorporated as a national sorority in 1904. The University of Washington Mu chapter was established in 1910.
Joseph Skoog is best known as a theater designer. He worked for several important Seattle architects, including Robert C. Reamer, before he established his own firm. He worked with Reamer on the Fifth Avenue Theater in downtown Seattle.
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| Appearance |
| The style of the Sigma Kappa Sorority house has been described as Norman cottage or Norman country house. It is a two-and-a-half story brick clad structure with steep hipped roofs with dormered windows. It has a handsome Tudor Revival arched cast-stone entrance portal and a turreted stair tower with diamond leaded-glass windows and a wrought-iron Juliet-type balcony. The third floor windows, which were leaded glass, have been replaced, and the building originally had shutters. In the gable wall north of the entrance, there is a tapestry brick basket weave pattern. On the second story level, south end, the brickwork is laid between half timbering. Two second story windows on the south elevation a boarded up.
The brick addition in the rear of the building, designed by Skoog and Waldron & Dietz, is relatively compatible in style and does not detract from the main structure. The addition has metal windows, mostly casements. The addition is connected to the main building by an enclosed half-timbered skywalk that extends from the first floor of the main building to the second-floor of the addition. The addition has a deck on the east elevation with a metal railing with a pattern of Sigma Kappa symbols. The site is attractively landscaped, particularly on the southern portion of the site, and may be a remnant of a university arboretum once associated with this site.
In 1949, repairs were made to the building due to fire damage. Following the addition and some alterations to the existing building in 1961, exits and minor alterations were made in 1975. The retaining wall and stairs were repaired in 1983 and in 1985, under the direction of architect F. Hoffmeister. In 2001 repairs were made to chimneys damaged by the Nisqually earthquake. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Brick |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Institutional Housing |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Social Movements & Organizations |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Windows: |
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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Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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Divoky, Andrea. Notes on University of Washington Fraternities and Sororities, compiled in 1997 and updated in 2002.
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Kreisman, Lawrence. "Frat Row, Students find a home away from home on a gracious boulevard." Seattle Times, February 12, 1989.
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