| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
Jefferson Park Apartments |
| Style: |
Commercial |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1925 |
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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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The first Beacon Hill streetcar line was constructed in the early 1890s, operated by the Union Trunk Line, one of Harwood Young’s business interests, and stimulated early growth on the area. The route ran south on Broadway from James Street to Main Street, then to Twelfth Avenue South. It ran south along Twelfth to South Massachusetts Street, then east to Fourteenth Avenue South, and south on Fourteenth to College Street. By 1896, it ran south to Hanford Street. Later the route followed Beacon Avenue south of the intersection of Fourteenth and Beacon Avenue. In 1906, the streetcar line was operated by the Seattle Electric Company. By 1929, the route, then known as #12 East Madison-Jefferson Park, had been extended along Beacon Avenue to South Spokane Street. A shuttle bus connected the south end of the Jefferson Park line with areas to the south as far as Thirty-Ninth Avenue South and South Cambridge Street on Beacon Hill.
In the 1920s and early 1930s, brick apartment buildings were constructed near the Beacon Hill streetcar line.
Some of the major stops on the Beacon Hill line included the “Junction,” at Fourteenth-Fifteenth South and Beacon Avenue, Hanford Street, and Spokane Street (Jefferson Park). Beacon Hill streetcar service ended in 1941 when buses replaced streetcars on the route.
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 1925, this massive multiple-family apartment building stands on a rectangular lot. The Seattle engineer J. M. Bard designed the building. West Coast Construction Company was the contractor and owner. The building is oriented to South Spokane Street on a flat site at street level. This 6208 square foot, three-story house with a full basement features an I-shaped plan, measuring approximately 130’ by 50’, with a terra cotta accented front entrance. A poured concrete foundation supports the brick masonry superstructure. A flat roof with parapets shelters the building. Wood sash double hung windows with multiple panes provide day lighting. |
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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): |
Flat with Parapet |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Multiple Family |
Plan: |
Other |
| Structural System: |
Masonry - Unreinforced |
No. of Stories: |
three |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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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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Blanchard, Leslie. The Street Railway Era in Seattle: A Chronicle of Six Decades. Forty Fort, PA: H.E. Cox, 1968.
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Merrell, Frederica and Mira Latoszek. Images of America: Seattle’s Beacon Hill. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
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