Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 414 NE 42nd ST NE / Parcel ID 3131201665 / Inv #

Historic Name: Wedeen, N. A. House Common Name: Wedeen House Style: Queen Anne Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1901   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. The Wedeen House was constructed in 1901. Swede Nels A. Wedeen (b. 1863) arrived Seattle shortly after the June 1889 Seattle Fire. When he arrived the Puget Sound Steam Laundry hired Weeden as a mangler. About 1893, he started the weekly Vestra Posten for western Washington Swedish immigrants. After just two years, it ceased publication likely due to the 1893 Panic one of the worst depressions in U.S. history. Wedeen made a career change from a newspaperman to a saloonkeeper. After a ton of Klondike gold arrived in Elliott Bay in 1897, which started the stampede for Yukon and Alaska gold, Seattle business improved significantly. In 1898 or 1899, Wedeen established the U & I Saloon at 922 1st Avenue. Business was so good that in February 1901 Wedeen hired recent Seattle arrival John H. Clark to build his family house which he finished by spring. This house was constructed near the beginning of the second major residential building boom that lasted from about 1899 until 1909. The first boom in Seattle lasted from about 1887 until 1891. In 1903, he moved his saloon one block south and renamed it Wedeens Saloon. Wedeen could commute to work by either walking two blocks to the Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern Railway line (present Burke Gilman Trail) or walking four blocks to the Lake Union bridge (crossed at 6th Avenue NE) and catching the Ravenna streetcar line to Seattle. He continued as a saloonkeeper until the early 1910s. By 1910 the Wedeens moved to Eastlake where they stayed for two years before leaving the city.. Later occupants. From the late 1920s through World War II, John W. and Sadie J. Hynes lived in the house. During the 1930s, John Hynes worked at MacDougall & Southwick Department Store in downtown Seattle and during World War II he served as a Seattle patrolman. By the late 1940s, student Arthur H. and his wife LaVonne S. Jones lived there. In the mid 1950s Thomas Foy, employed at The Tilemaster Company, and his wife Ellen P. occupied the residence. By the time of the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair Boeing mechanic Claus E. and Violet Johnson resided there. The Queen Anne style residence appears to meet City of Seattle Landmark criteria due to the age of the structure (over 100 years old) and minimal alterations.   Appearance On March 25, 1901 "N. A. Weeden" procured a building permit for a 38 x 38 foot 1 1/2 story house (# 7310). The house was constructed in about two months. The vernacular Queen Anne style residence has a hip and gable roof. The south elevation has a recessed porch with a gable extension all supported by Doric columns. The same elevation also has a three sided bay window. The gable end has decorative shingle cladding. Another three sided bay window is located on the west elevation. A small eyebrow dormer on south elevation is gone.

Detail for 414 NE 42nd ST NE / Parcel ID 3131201665 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Roof Type(s): Gable, Hip 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): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Windows: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Moderate Changes to Plan: Slight 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. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1904-1905) 4 volumes. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1916-1919) volumes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1949-1950 update) 11 volumes. Seattle Daily Bulletin

Photo collection for 414 NE 42nd ST NE / Parcel ID 3131201665 / Inv #

Photo taken Nov 23, 2004