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Summary for 4519 14th AVE / Parcel ID 3959400060 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Beacon Hill
Built By: Year Built: 1931
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1931, the building was owned by A. R. Rounds. B. V. Williams purchased the building in March of 1937. By 1938, the building was vacant. Clarence H. Seeliger purchased the house in April of 1940 and resided in the house through 1968. Beacon Hill is a long north-south tending ridge located southeast of downtown Seattle and stands 350 feet at its highest point. The hill’s steep topography deterred substantial Euro-American settlement through the early 1880s. Then, development of the area was stimulated by the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1890s, its proximity to Seattle’s main industrial area to the west, and the regrading of the hill’s north end in the early 1900s. Originally acquired by the City in 1898, Jefferson Park was integrated into Seattle’s Olmsted system of parks, and the Olmsted Brothers prepared a plan for the park in 1912. The first public golf course west of the Mississippi opened at Jefferson Park in 1915. Jefferson Park has exerted a profound positive influence on the development of the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Because of its proximity to the International District, Japanese and Chinese families moved to Beacon Hill starting in the 1920s. World War I and II stimulated a surge in housing development associated with wartime industry. The construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s and Interstate 90 in the 1980s sliced through the neighborhoods and contributed to Beacon Hill’s relative isolation. Today, Beacon Hill is an ethnically diverse working class community, which has a mixed Asian, Chicano, African American, and Caucasian population.
 
Appearance
Built in 1931, this modest, Tudor Revival style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Fourteenth Avenue South on a flat site above street level. This 1020 square foot, single-story house with a full basement features a nearly square plan, measuring approximately 30’ by 34’, with a small front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the cross gable roof. Flush gables with rake trim and modest eave overhangs define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-pane windows provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the front stoop. A projecting, steeply-pitched gable shelters the stoop. A prominent gable end brick chimney services the building.

Detail for 4519 14th AVE / Parcel ID 3959400060 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick, Brick - Clinker Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Plan: Square
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: 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.
City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 4519 14th AVE / Parcel ID 3959400060 / Inv #


Photo taken Mar 12, 2004

Photo taken

Photo taken Mar 12, 2004
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