| Historic Name: |
Columbia Funeral Home |
Common Name: |
Columbia Funeral Home |
| Style: |
Colonial - Colonial Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Columbia City |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1906 |
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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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This building was originally constructed as the home of the Lassen family in 1906. Leo Lassen, famed radio announcer for the Seattle Rainiers baseball team grew up here. The original home was a small hip-roofed wood frame structure with no dormers. It was expanded in 1907, and then converted into a funeral home in 1917. By 1937 it had essentially the same appearance as it does today, with a front porch, two dormers and a small one-story flat-roofed wing to the south. The porch was rebuilt in 1947 with a concrete floor and steps and brick veneer added to the railing. Further additions on the rear elevation have been made since then.
The building is significant as one of Seattle's oldest neighborhood funeral homes, with the same name and use since 1917. It is an important part of Columbia City, historically the commercial hub of the Rainier Valley. Columbia City, site of an early saw mill, was first platted in 1891, shortly after the Rainier Valley Electric Railway began running from Seattle. It was incorporated as a town in 1893, and annexed into the city of Seattle in1907 when the tax base proved to be too small to maintain its growth. It remained a commercial and industrial hub until after World War II. The center rof Columbia City, immediately south of this building, was designated a local and National Register historic district in 1978, and has recently seen considerable revitalization.
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| Appearance |
| This building has a side gable roof with two large hip dormers on the main (east) façade. The roof is clad with red barrel tiles. The dormers each have a large multipaned three-part window. Between the dormers is a pair of multipaned windows and a small porch with a decorative wood balustrade. A recessed veranda runs along the entire length of the main façade, with four pairs of columns supporting the roof. The windows opening onto the veranda are six-over-one wood sash, around a wood-and-glass door. The front of the veranda is clad with red brick. Cladding elsewhere is clapboard, except on the north side which has wood shingles in the large gable end. The south elevation has one pair of double-hung windows and a one-story flat-roofed addition; this is largely obscured by the fabric canopy covering the walkway to the street. The rear (west) elevation has a single dormer with a small window. The door of the original brick attached garage at the rear has been filled in with concrete and it has been converted to another use. Another garage has been added at the rear of the building, extending to the north. Canvas canopys have been added to the dormer windows and covering the walkway to the south. The front of the roof has a prominent neon sign with the words in script "Columbia Funeral Home." The funeral home is surrounded by clipped shrubs and other formal landscAping, with a lush sunken garden at the front corner of the property. To the north is a sizeable parking lot. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Shingle, Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Metal |
| Building Type: |
Funerary - Mortuary |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Commerce, Community Planning/Development |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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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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Historylink.org, "Columbia City Historical Walking Tour"
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