Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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Style: |
Colonial - Colonial Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Mount Baker |
Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1917 |
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Significance |
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Built in 1917 at a cost of $6,000, this building was designed by Seattle architect, Gerald C. Field, and owned by W. F. Gwin. By 1920, Mr. Ford owned the building. In 1920, Mr. Ford hired the contractor, H. E. Hudson, to repair fire damage to the building. Phillip E. Dickinson purchased the building in June of 1938. Mr. Dickinson resided in the house through 1968.
Gerard C. Field worked for several architects including Bebb & Mendel before he became an architect in 1918. He worked with Howells & Stokes early in his career and for Howells & Albertson in the 1920s. He practiced independently after that until his retirement in 1965. A.H. Albertson was one of Seattle’s prominent architects and is known for his designs of buildings in Seattle’s Metropolitan Tract in downtown Seattle, the downtown YMCA, and for Cornish School and Saint Joseph Catholic Church on Capitol Hill. Gerard C. Field designed many types of buildings including houses, apartments, commercial buildings, theaters, factories, warehouses, retail stores, and churches. He designed buildings in many Washington and Oregon cities during his long career.
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 1917, this substantial, Colonial Revival style, single-family dwelling stands on a nearly square lot. The building is oriented to Cascadia Avenue South on a flat site 7’ above street level. This 1764 square foot, two-story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 36’ by 40’, with a 9’ by 36’ front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the side gable roof and gable dormers. Nearly flush gables and eaves with a prominent fascia along the side facade and cornice returns define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-lite double hung windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. Two flights of stairs lead from the sidewalk to the front porch. Slender, paired columns support the porch roof and upper balcony. A low balustrade wraps the upper porch. A significant one-story addition extends off the back facade. The slender columns set this building apart from other similar Colonial Revival buildings within the neighborhood. |
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Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Shingle |
Foundation(s): |
Unknown |
Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
Unit Theme(s): |
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Integrity |
Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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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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Architects Reference Files, Special Collections and Preservation Division, University of Washington Libraries.
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Dietz, Duane, “Architects and Landscape Architects of Seattle, 1876 to 1959 and Beyond,” unpublished paper. University of Washington Libraries, July 1993.
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