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Summary for 2801 32nd AVE / Parcel ID 5700000550 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1936
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1936, this building was purchased by Alfred S. Olsen in July of the same year. In April of 1947, Sam J. Fine bought the building for $18,500 and resided in the building through 1958. 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.
 
Appearance
Built in 1936, this substantial, Tudor Revival style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular corner lot. The building is oriented to Thirty-Second Avenue South on a flat site 4’ above street level. This 1082 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 25’ by 42’, with a 4’ by 4’ front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the gable roof, clipped cross gable and inset dormer. Flush gables with rake trim and a boxed soffit with cornice returns define the roofline. Multiple-pane casement and fixed windows provide day lighting. A small recessed stoop provides access to the building. A gable end exterior brick chimney with a decorative inset terra cotta cartouche services the building. The overall composition and chimney detailing set this building apart as distinct within the Mount Baker neighborhood.

Detail for 2801 32nd AVE / Parcel ID 5700000550 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
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: 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.
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 2801 32nd AVE / Parcel ID 5700000550 / Inv #


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