| Historic Name: |
Douglas Hotel |
Common Name: |
Dorothy Day House |
| Style: |
Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Belltown |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1904 |
| |
| 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. |
|
|
Although 1909 is the stated construction date for this simple brick building, it appears on the 1905 Baist's map, as does the similar Alexandria Hotel one block to the south. This makes them among the oldest of the workers' hotels in Belltown. In 1925 it was known as the Hotel Europe, but by 1937 it had become the Douglas Hotel. In 1932 it was purchased from Judge Donworth by Samuel Israel , who acquired many downtown properties during the Depression. In 1937 it housed a Chinese laundry and two apartments on the first floor; the 38 hotel rooms shared a bathroom on each floor. The building, now called Dorothy Day House, has been renovated by the Archdiocesan Housing Authority to provide 24 low income housing units; an addition on the north has another 17 units.
This is typical of the workers' hotels that lined First Avenue after Denny Hill was regraded. The hill blocked the city’s northward progress until it was regraded (between 1898 and 1911) and opened up for development. In only twenty years, Seattle’s population had exploded from 80,671 (1900) to 315,312 (1920), creating a critical need for housing. Belltown quickly became a concentrated residential area. Workers’ hotels like this one, often without individual bath and cooking facilities, lined First Avenue. Residents were typically single men, many of whom worked in lumber camps, canneries or ships for part of the year.
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| This three-story brick building has simple brick ornamentation, including quoins and corbelled courses above the first and third story windows. Windows are set into arches, mostly in pairs; they have newer metal sash in the original one-over-one configuration. The corner storefront, which had been modernized by the previous owner, has been restored to close to its original appearance. |
|
|
| Status: |
Yes - Hold |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Brick |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat with Parapet |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Hotel |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Brick |
No. of Stories: |
three |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce |
| Integrity |
|
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
|
Storefront: |
Slight |
|
Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
|
| Major Bibliographic References |
|
King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
|
|
City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.
|
|
Sheridan, Mimi, “Historic Context Statement, Belltown," 2007.
|
|
|
