| Historic Name: |
Carr Brothers Auto Repair |
Common Name: |
Area 51 |
| Style: |
Commercial |
Neighborhood: |
Pike/Pine |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1910 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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This is one of the older garage buildings in the area, built in 1910. The Pike/Pine/Broadway vicinity became Seattle's Auto Row shortly after the first automobile was offered for sale in 1905. For the next twenty years, virtually all the auto dealers, and numerous auto-related businesses, were located here. A unique building type was developed for auto dealerships. They were fireproof buildings of concrete or brick masonry, with showrooms with large display windows to show the merchandise, and driveways to provide auto storage in the rear and, sometimes, massive elevators to store autos on the upper floors.
This was probably originally a dealership with a showroom on the first floor and auto storage and service on the second floor. The auto ramp to the second floor garage is still intact on the alley elevation. In the 1920s-40s it was Carr Brothers & Wurdeman, auto repair, with Lund and Albright, auto lacquerers. The corner storefront was altered in 1946. It has most recently been a museum for objects related to the petroleum industry, and the gas station memorabilia is visible in the upper windows. The building was owned for many years by the J. M. Colman Company, and may have been built by that company. Colman was an early Seattle entrepreneur, who came to Seattle in 1872 to operate Henry Yesler's sawmill at the foot of Yesler Way. he was later a primary factor in development of the first local railroad, the Seattle & Walla Walla. He built the Colman Dock in 1882 and rebuilt it after the 189 fire; soon after, the Alaska gold rush made Seattle a shipping hub.
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| Appearance |
| This brick masonry building is notable for its intact second floor windows, large sash with transoms and small panes. The deep modillioned cornice is pierced by wide pilasters that rise about a foot above the roofline. The northwest corner of building is angled to meet the corner. The storefronts on Bellevue Avenue (west) are intact with wood sash and transoms. The corner storefront was altered in 1946 and has been modernized since, with new sash and corrugated metal cladding. The alley (east) elevation is intact, with the original garage doors and the ramp providing auto access to the second floor garage. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Concrete, Metal |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
| Building Type: |
Transportation - Road- Related |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Masonry - Unreinforced |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Transportation |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Storefront: |
Moderate |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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History Link
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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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