| Historic Name: |
James, J. A. House |
Common Name: |
James House |
| Style: |
Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Queen Anne |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1903 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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Builder? Jesse A. James
LANDMARK SENTENCE
The James House was constructed in 1903. By 1888, Jesse A. James (b. ca. 1869) arrived in Seattle and the following year the Seattle Post Office hired James to deliver mail. By 1903, James apparently tired of delivering mail along the unpaved streets of Seattle and he got a better paying job as a field inspector for Seattle Water Department. He held onto that job until he left Seattle in the early 1920s. On August 7, 1903, the Seattle Building Department issued James a building permit for a 1 ½ story 28’ x 34’ frame cottage estimated to cost $1200. The permit listed Jesse James as the owner, architect and builder. If he built the house, James likely got the house plans from a plan book or house catalog. James probably completed the house by the end of 1903 although he might not have finished it until early 1904. To go downtown the James walked four blocks and caught the streetcars running down Queen Anne Avenue. Jesse and wife Emma lived in the house until they moved in 1909 and remained in Seattle until 1921.
Later occupants. From the late 1920s through World War II, Henry and Elisa Butterworth occupied the house. Henry Butterworth’s was a bookkeeper before becoming a architect. In the late 1940s sales manager William and wife Edith Taylor lived in the house before widow Anna Lorraine moved in and lived there until the early 1960s. In 1966, Robert McNeil purchased the residence.
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