Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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Style: |
Unknown |
Neighborhood: |
Mount Baker |
Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1937 |
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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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Built in 1937, this building was constructed on property purchased by Starr H. and Katherine K. Calvert in April of 1935. The Calverts resided previously at 3242 Lakewood Avenue South. Mr. Calvert worked as treasurer for the San Juan Fishing and Packing Company. By 1954, Allan H. Link lived in the building. Mr. Link remained through 1958. Then in July of 1964, Felix H. Zaffiro purchased the residence for $65,000. Two years later, in June of 1966, Charlton Whittaker bought the building for $75,000. In September of the following year, Investment Properties purchased the property for $101,533. Jerome J. Farris purchased the building in October of 1972 for $130,000.
The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted in 1907 by the Hunter Tract Improvement Company. The Mount Baker Park Addition represents the core of the neighborhood and is its primary character-defining feature. Mount Baker Park is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects.
Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
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Appearance |
Built in 1937, this massive, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot overlooking Lake Washington. The building is sited on a steeply sloping site 10’ to 20’ below street level. This 3071 square foot, two story house with a full daylight basement features an irregular plan, measuring approximately 80’ by 45’, with a small front entrance. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick veneer-clad superstructure. Wood shake/shingle roofing covers the hip roof. Flush eaves define the roofline. Multiple lite casement windows provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the main doorway. A low shed roof shelters the entrance. The building features an integrated garage on the south end. A gable end brick chimney services the building. The expansive site, scale and stylistic composition set this building apart as unique within the neighborhood. |
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Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Brick |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Wood - Shake |
Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Irregular |
Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
Unit Theme(s): |
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Integrity |
Changes to Windows: |
Unknown |
Changes to Plan: |
Unknown |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Unknown |
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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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City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
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Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
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Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."
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