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Summary for 403 W Comstock ST W / Parcel ID 173280-0780 / Inv #

Historic Name: Davidson, James & Annie, House Common Name:
Style: American Foursquare Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Built By: Year Built: 1909
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places.
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local).
This large house was built in 1909 for James D. Davidson, president of the William Hunt Company, and his wife Annie. They remained here until at least the 1920s. The builder and architect are not known. Later owners included Mrs. Lottie Nietzel (1940s); Melvin and Emma Anderson; Frank (a US Department of Agriculture inspector) and Alicia Waliser (1960s-70s); Gerald Tarutis, an attorney and his wife Judith; and James Sinegal (1998-2004), CEO of Costco. Permit records show that the house once had stucco cladding that may or may not have been original; this was removed in 1924. The detached garage built in that year was replaced in 1997, with a deck on top; a new dormer was added on the west elevation. The house was cited in the city-wide historic resources survey done in the 1970s for its notable leaded beveled glass windows.
 
Appearance
This elegant example of an American Foursquare has the typical hipped-roof form with a single hipped dormer on the east elevation, with deep flat eaves and prominent corbels. The house is on the southwest corner, and the wide flat-roofed verandah takes advantage of that siting, wrapping around the front (north) and east sides. The porch roof is supported by seven heavy square piers and has a solid clapboard-clad balustrade. Cladding is narrow clapboard, with a belt course between the two stories. Windows are predominantly large one-over-one double hung sash, with high wide fixed pane windows and smaller awning and casement windows. Many are leaded beveled glass, especially around the entry. The southeast corner, facing the view has a bank of large one-over-one windows, with additional ones on the new dormer that rises high above the street; the garage on the southeast has also been replaced.

Detail for 403 W Comstock ST W / Parcel ID 173280-0780 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two & ½
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: Slight
Changes to Plan: Slight
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 403 W Comstock ST W / Parcel ID 173280-0780 / Inv #


Photo taken Aug 16, 2004
App v2.0.1.0