Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 2202 S FOREST ST S / Parcel ID 3083000680 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Beacon Hill Built By: Year Built: 1929   Significance Built in 1929, the building was occupied by Clementina W. and Enrico Marchi through 1943. Mr. Marchi was a driver for S Hauling Company. In 1933, Mr. Marchi added a chimney. By 1955 through 1968, Victor S. Marchi lived in the building. A neighborhood of Italian immigrants and their businesses developed in the North Rainier Valley and northeast Beacon Hill. Starting around 1900, Italian immigrants came to Seattle to work in coal mines and as construction laborers and farmers. The Italian immigrants may have settled in this area because of its inexpensive housing, convenient location near downtown, and potential for small farm plots in the North Rainier Valley. This neighborhood, which became known as “Garlic Gulch” or “Little Italy,” centered on South Atlantic Street and Rainier Avenue South. In 1915, about 200 families lived in a 90-square-block area along Rainier Avenue from Lane Street on the north to Mount Baker Park on the south. Many Italian-owned businesses were located in the area, including food imports, Borracchini’s Bakery, Oberto Sausage Company, produce stands, grocery stores, a nursery (Malmo’s), drug stores, and other shops. Our Lady of Mount Virgin Catholic Church at 1531 Bradner Place South, built in 1913, was the hub of the Italian community and operated a Catholic School that offered Italian lessons. Most of the remaining structures in the Italian neighborhood were razed during construction of I-90 in the 1970s and 1980s. 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.   Appearance Built in 1929, this compact, Tudor Revival style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to South Forest Street on a flat site 4’ above street level. This 1057 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 25’ by 43’, with a 7’ by 4’ front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the steeply pitched cross gable roof. Nearly flush gable and eave overhangs with prominent bargeboards define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-pane windows provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the front stoop set beneath the main roofline. Decorative brickwork trims the entrance. An exterior gable end brick chimney services the building. The brick accents and overall proportions set this building apart as good example of late 1920s application of the Tudor Revival style within the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Detail for 2202 S FOREST ST S / Parcel ID 3083000680 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Brick - Common Bond Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½ Unit Theme(s): Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Windows: Slight 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. City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures. Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement." Nicandri, David L. Italians in Washington State: Emigration 1853-1924. Olympia, WA: Washington State American Revolution Commission, 1978. Roe, Nellie Virginia. “The Italian Immigrant in Seattle,” Master of Arts Thesis, University of Washington, 1915.

Photo collection for 2202 S FOREST ST S / Parcel ID 3083000680 / Inv #

Photo taken Oct 31, 2003 Photo taken Oct 31, 2003 Photo taken Oct 31, 2003 Photo taken