Summary for 1916 N 45th ST N / Parcel ID 4083802775 / Inv # WA001 |
Historic Name: |
Ernst Hardware |
Common Name: |
Tweedy & Popp Hardware |
Style: |
Art Deco - Streamline Moderne |
Neighborhood: |
Wallingford |
Built By: |
Henry Birttman (1941) |
Year Built: |
1916 |
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Significance |
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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This longtime neighborhood hardware store is in the Moderne style, a relative rarity in Seattle, The building was first constructed in 1916 and remodeled into an excellent example of the Art Moderne style in 1941. It was an Ernst Hardware store in the 1930s, until the store moved to a larger location. It has been Tweedy & Popp Hardware, one of the city's relatively few small local hardware stores, for many years.
The 1941 remodel was designed by Henry W. Bittman, one of Seattle's most prominent architects. He came to Seattle in 1906, and soon opened a structural engineering practice. He became a licensed architect in 1923. He is best known for his expert use of terra cotta ornament, notably in the Eagles Temple (1924) and the Terminal Sales Building (1923). He specialized in large office blocks, industrial buildings, apartments and hotels. By the late 1920s he was using Art Deco motifs (as in the Olympic Tower), and by the late 1930s he had adopted the Streamline Moderne style seen in this building. He later began using the International Style, without any ornament. One of his last major commissions was the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Building (1947).
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Appearance |
This one-story retail buidling is clad in black tile, with shingles on the east elevation. It has a metal canopy with rounded corners and metal-framed display windows; these are typical of the art Moderne style and date from the 1941 remodel. |
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Detail for 1916 N 45th ST N / Parcel ID 4083802775 / Inv # WA001 |
Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Ceramic tile |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
Roof Type(s): |
Flat |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
Building Type: |
Commercial/Trade - Specialty store |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one |
Unit Theme(s): |
Commerce |
Integrity |
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Major Bibliographic References |
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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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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Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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Photo collection for 1916 N 45th ST N / Parcel ID 4083802775 / Inv # WA001 |

Photo taken Sep 18, 2001
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