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Summary for 3340 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003980 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Colonial - Georgian Revival Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1921
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1921, this building was purchased by Lulu M. and George E. Sylvester in April of the same year. George Hughes was the contractor. Mr. Sylvester was vice president of Sylvester Brothers. By 1943, Robert J. Culliton lived in the building, followed by Elkan and Tishelle Offer by 1954 through 1958. The building sold again in 1959. Charles H. Rockwood bought the property in July of 1965 for $34,000. The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted in 1907 by the Hunter Tract Improvement Company. The Mount Baker Park Addition represents the core of the neighborhood and is its primary character-defining feature. Mount Baker Park is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects. Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
 
Appearance
Built in 1921, this Colonial Revival style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular corner lot. The building is oriented to Cascadia Avenue South on a sloping site 2’ below street level. This 1616 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 32’ by 41’. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick-clad superstructure. A soldier course delineates the first and second story transition. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof. Modest closed eave overhangs with prominent fascia define the roofline. Wood sash windows provide day lighting with triple arched windows over the front entrance. A prominent sidewall exterior brick chimney services the building.

Detail for 3340 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003980 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick - Common Bond Foundation(s): Unknown
Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Other
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Moderate
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: 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.
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 3340 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003980 / Inv #


Photo taken Oct 30, 2003

Photo taken Oct 30, 2003

Photo taken
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