Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 1020 NE 82nd ST NE / Parcel ID 5100400230 / Inv # DPR061

Historic Name: Maple Leaf Playfield Shelter House Common Name: Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Maple Leaf Built By: Year Built: 1932   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. This architecturally distinctive brick shelter house was completed in 1932 to serve the upper western half of the Maple Leaf Playfield. Jurisdiction over the usage of the property had been transferred from the Seattle Water Department to the Parks Department in 1911, however this building was one of the first improvements developed for the park. Through purchase or condemnation, the Water Department had acquired the property at Maple Leaf between 1906 and 1908 in order to construct a reservoir. The Water Department completed construction of the 60,000,000-gallon reservoir in 1910 along with the 50,000,000-gallon Green Lake Reservoir located ten blocks to the south. These reservoirs and their 1911 pump stations were built as part of the Cedar River Water System No. 2, which included the pipeline from the Cedar River and the reservoirs and their appurtenances at Beacon Hill. Construction of the Cedar River water system had commenced in 1899 after Seattle residents voted in 1895 for the approval of bonds to finance the system. On January 10, 1901, water began flowing from the Cedar River into Seattle’s system carried by a newly completed 28.57-mile pipeline to the new Lincoln and Volunteer reservoirs. This new system had a capacity of 23.5 million gallons per day. Over the next ten years, the city’s population increased from 80,600 in 1900 to 237,194 in 1920, greatly increasing the demand for water all over the city. In 1908, construction began on a second pipeline and the reservoirs, which would be supplied by it. On June 21, 1909, the second pipeline went into service, providing an additional 45 million-gallon per day capacity to meet the water needs of a fast-growing Seattle. Within a year, the Maple Leaf and Green Lake Reservoirs were completed with water supplied via water mains from the Volunteer Park Reservoir. With a capacity of 60,000,000 gallons, the intermediate service Maple Leaf reservoir served the north end of the city along with the low service Green Lake Reservoir. After the completion of the reservoir and its appurtenances, the Water Department transferred jurisdiction over the unused land to the Parks Department but retained actual ownership of the property. The agreement was later modified in 1950. The strip of park property was located along the southern edge of the reservoir site but partitioned on either side of the pipeline at 12th Avenue NE. This shelter house was constructed in 1932 on the upper western half of the park near the children’s play area. Designed in a simplified Tudor Revival style, this shelter house was one of eight similar shelter houses constructed in Seattle parks in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These buildings housed large rooms for organized recreation activities in addition to public restroom facilities. Office space for recreation instructors was also provided. Construction of these shelter houses at the Lower Woodland, Jefferson Park, Washington Park, Lincoln Park, Maple Leaf, Ravenna Park, Brighton and Gilman Playfields followed a policy to build only structures that would be pleasing in design and permanent in nature. This building is significant for its design and for its association with the development of Maple Leaf Playfield.   Appearance Completed in 1932, this brick shelter house occupies a site within the upper western end of Maple Leaf Playfield adjacent to the children’s play area. The Tudor Revival building faces south towards a grassy field and contains a large recreation room at the center flanked by a women’s restroom at the western end and a men’s restroom at the eastern end. The side gable main block of this one-story building has smaller side gable wings at each end aligned along the rear north elevation, creating a T-shaped footprint. The principal south elevation has a gabled center entrance bay, which contains a modern metal door in a slightly recessed opening embellished with decorative brickwork. Horizontal window openings flank the wide center bay and wrap onto the side elevations of the main block. Set high on the wall below the roofline, these openings have multi-paned sash covered by metal screens. The east elevation of the main block has a second narrower entrance into the recreation room located south of center. The gable ends of the main block have narrow arched openings set with louvers. The entrances to the restrooms are situated at the southern ends of the side elevations of the wings. Modern metal gates have replaced the original wood entrance doors. The south elevations of these wings have horizontal window openings similar to those on the main block. Additional window openings wrap the northwest and northeast corners of the wings. Metal louvers have replaced the original sash within the openings along the rear north elevation. The north elevation of the main block has an entrance door centered between four smaller windows. A smaller modern door with a concrete surround has been installed within the original opening. A large low brick chimney pierces the northern slope of the main block’s gable roof. Graffiti mars both the interior and exterior of the building, and efflorescence and rising damp are evident in places. Nonetheless, this architecturally distinctive building still retains very good physical integrity.

Detail for 1020 NE 82nd ST NE / Parcel ID 5100400230 / Inv # DPR061

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Metal - Standing Seam Building Type: Other Plan: T-Shape Structural System: Unknown No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development, Entertainment/Recreation Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Intact Major Bibliographic References Sherwood, Don. Seattle Parks Histories, c. 1970-1981, unpublished. McWilliams, Mary. Seattle Water Department History, 1854-1954: Operational Data and Memoranda. Seattle, WA: Water Department, City of Seattle, c1955. Seattle Water Department. Annual report / City of Seattle, Water Department. Seattle, WA: 1908-1965.

Photo collection for 1020 NE 82nd ST NE / Parcel ID 5100400230 / Inv # DPR061

Photo taken Jul 19, 2000