Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 109 NE 54th ST NE / Parcel ID 9550203340 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Queen Anne - Cottage Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1910   Significance The King County Property Record Card and the King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report both indicate that this house was built in 1908, however, the structure appear to have completed in 1910. A permit was issued to Magnus E. Sundene in October 1908 (permit # 67204); however, this permit appears to have covered only construction of the foundation, and a second permit (#92105), also issued to Sundene (who is also listed as the builder), appears to have been necessary in order allow for completion of the structure in 1910. Plans were made to extend the living space into the attic and a permit (#140405) was issued to Sundene in 1915 for alteration of the roof, addition of a stairway, and the installation of joists that would support a second floor. Although the work was completed later that year, the attic appears not to have been completely finished until some point after the Assessor surveyed the house in 1937. Sundene appears to have moved from the house by1920. The City granted permission to owner J. Maltersen for construction of a private garage in 1921 (permit #199514). However, this structure must have later been removed (or perhaps was never built) because another permit (#306534) to build a garage was issued in 1932 to Edgar A. Drotning. Edgar was a member of a large family of workers that moved into the house in the mid 1920s. Theo M. Drotning, a teacher at Franklin High School, owned the property when the King County Property Record Card was prepared in 1937. He appears to have acquired it in 1925. It appears that the Drotnings may have already been on their way out when the Assessor surveyed the property in 1937. L. R. Hurst installed a new chimney for owner Fred M. Sherry in 1936 (permit # 321318). Fred and Trixie Sherry are listed as the residents of the house in the 1938 edition of Polk’s Seattle Directory. The history of the structure in the years during and after the Second World War has not yet been determined with any degree of certainty. However, a new property owner named Thoeing appears to have purchase the house in April 1967. About a year later, in 1968, Daniel D. Molnar bought the property. Furnace work was completed for the current owner Mark Conover in 1982. It has not yet been determined when Conover acquired the property. The house is significant as an intact example of late Queen Anne style housing built in the early years of Seattle’s first north end building boom, a period in which the craftsman style was becoming popular. The entry to the house is unusual; the front door is placed in one of the facets of the front facing bay window. This arrangement seems to be unique among houses built in the Wallingford neighborhood.   Appearance This is a 1-1/2 story frame residence built over a full basement on a poured concrete foundation. The moderate slope of the cross gabled roof, the enclosed soffits, the full height built up wood columns supporting the gabled porch roof with pent at the entry, and the tall narrow windows identify this structure as an example of a late Queen Anne style cottage. The structure would have seemed a little out of date when it was completed in 1910. This house features an unusual entry that accesses the interior through a window bay projecting into the front porch. Although a few windows have been altered, the house does not appear to have been substantially altered.

Detail for 109 NE 54th ST NE / Parcel ID 9550203340 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Hold Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle, Vertical - Boards, Wood - Clapboard, Wood - Drop siding Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured, Post & Pier Roof Type(s): Gable, Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Irregular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development Integrity Changes to Windows: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Slight Changes to Plan: 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.

Photo collection for 109 NE 54th ST NE / Parcel ID 9550203340 / Inv #

Photo taken Sep 28, 2004