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Summary for 905 Olympic WAY / Parcel ID 387990-1970 / Inv #

Historic Name: Kinnear Apartments Common Name: Kinnear Apartments
Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Built By: Year Built: 1907
 
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).
The period before the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was a period of considerable development in Seattle, as the city prepared for the world to come visit. This was particularly true on the south slope of Queen Anne, which was conveniently reached by streetcar and provided a quiet refuge for visitors. Two of the most notable apartments from this period are the nearby Chelsea and the Delamar, both city landmarks. The Kinnear, built in 1907, was designed by architect William White. Owners R. M. Foutz and H. F. Williams built a luxury building, with 26 apartments, a laundry, a billiards room and a room suitable for teas and dances. (The dance hall was converted to an apartment in 1929.) It also boasted a refrigeration plant that produced 5,000 pounds of ice daily. It is prominently sited at a curve at the edge of the hill, and is distinctive in design, with a triangular plan to fit the site and polygonal bays. The 1979 historic resources survey noted its concrete, clinker brick and stucco cladding and its turret. It is not known how long the original owners held the building, but it was purchased in 1929 by Wendell W. Black, an attorney with Lewis, Black & Ghormley, and his wife Helen, who lived here for many years. The current owner, the Ester family, bought the building in 1970.
 
Appearance
This three-story triangular building has a polygonal bay at the south end, or prow, of the building. Cladding is stucco with clinker brick on the first floor, a rock-faced concrete block foundation and a concrete water table. The prominent cornice is of wood, painted brown. The recessed entry is particularly ornate, with marble on the stairs and walls, a coffered ceiling and ornamentation that includes egg-and-dart molding, wreaths and wood pilasters. The double doors and sidelights are of leaded glass. Above the entry on both the second and third floors are recessed porches with turned wood balustrades. The entry bay is topped with a gable in the parapet. The front elevation has two three-sided hanging bays, on the second and third floors; the south elevation has four similar bays. This elevation is on a slope, so has two lower floors, for a total of five stories at the far end. Between each bay is a gable in the parapet.

Detail for 905 Olympic WAY / Parcel ID 387990-1970 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick, Stucco Foundation(s): Concrete - Block
Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Unknown
Building Type: Domestic - Multiple Family Plan: Triangular
Structural System: Concrete - Poured No. of Stories: three
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Moderate
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
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.
"Review of Week in Realty Trading," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 17, 1907.

Photo collection for 905 Olympic WAY / Parcel ID 387990-1970 / Inv #


Photo taken Sep 04, 2004
App v2.0.1.0