| Historic Name: |
Barcelona Court |
Common Name: |
Barcelona Court |
| Style: |
Spanish - Eclectic |
Neighborhood: |
Queen Anne |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1928 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. |
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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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In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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Barcelona Court is one of several Mediterranean-style apartment courts developed by Frederick Anhalt in the 1920s. Three of these are located on Queen Anne, including Seville Court (906 1st Avenue W.) and 1108 W. Olympic Way. This complex was renovated in 2003 and converted to condominiums.
Frederick Anhalt was Seattle’s best-known apartment developers, bringing a distinctive sense of style and promoting high-quality apartments as an alternative to single-family homes. His buildings are the best known of the city’s numerous pre-war apartment buildings, and set the standard for such projects. Anhalt combined the development, design, construction, landscaping, marketing and management functions in one firm. Anhalt moved to Seattle about 1924 after working in various trades in the Midwest, and in 1925 formed the Western Building & Leasing Company with partner Jerome B. Hardcastle, Jr. The company quickly began to centralize design and construction within the firm, and in 1928 Anhalt bought Hardcastle’s interest; Barcelona Court was built during this period. The firm built bungalow courts, apartment courts and commercial buildings on Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, West Seattle, Beacon Hill and Ballard, using English Tudor or Mediterranean Revival styles. In late 1928, the firm designed and constructed apartment buildings for The Borchert Company. The following year the firm (now known as the Anhalt Company) built five larger-scale luxury apartment buildings on Capitol Hill, based on Medieval English and Norman French prototypes. Although the apartment business failed during the Depression, Anhalt continued to build single-family homes until 1942, when he turned to his nursery business.
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| Appearance |
| This U-shaped apartment sits above the street, and has two-story townhouse units arranged around a large center courtyard. It is a lage building, measuring 110 feet wide and 100 feet deep. Cladding is cream-colored stucco, with dark red tile roofing. Each unit has an entry to the courtyard; the doorways are paired, with each pair sheltered by a flared copper hood. Corner units are entered through small arched porches. Rear doors on south and west elevations have concrete steps and suspended flat hoods. Windows throughout are newer leaded sash with a geometric pattern. The primary windows are either casements or three-part sash with large fixed panes flanked by narrower windows. Casements are arranged singly or in twos or threes; other windows are nine-over-one sash. On the exterior elevations, facing the street, French doors open onto decorative wrought iron balconies. The front (east) of the lot has a rockery with a winding staircase to the courtyard, along with five individual garages; two more garages are at the southwest corner. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Stucco |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Clay Tile |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Multiple Family |
Plan: |
U-Shape |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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Kreisman, Lawrence. Apartments by Anhalt. Seattle: Kreisman Exhibit Design, 1978.
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