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Summary for 6733 ELLIS AVE / Parcel ID 3468800145 / Inv # 0
Historic Name: James M. Purkapile House Common Name:
Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman Neighborhood: Georgetown
Built By: Year Built: 1927
 
Significance

Based on field work conducted in September 2014, this historic property retains its relationship to the streetscape, historic building form and a sufficient amount of exterior historic building fabric (design features, cladding and/or window sash/openings) to contribute to the distinct character of the Georgetown neighborhood.

This is an altered but relatively intact historic property that may possess some limited architectural and/or historic significance. This property exhibits no substantive changes to the exterior appearance since it was identified in the 1997 HRI project.

This property is associated with an era of residential and commercial building between 1916 and 1942 which continued in Georgetown despite an acceleration of the trends toward the industrialization of the area. Significant changes came with prohibition and the closure of the brewery in 1916, the completion of the Duwamish Waterway in 1917, and the arrival of new businesses, such as the Boeing Airplane Company in 1916. In spite of the increasingly industrial nature of the area which had been zoned as such in 1923, residents of Georgetown continued to build new homes and businesses and to plan for a future in the neighborhood. This house was built for James M. Purkapile who resided there until c. 1930 when the house was purchased by James (and Alice) Gordon, a real estate developer associated with GT109. (inventory form list "Day laborer" after Architect/Engineer/Builder).
 
Appearance
A generally intact, however altered, example of an early 20th C. residential design that includes distinctive late Bungalow design features. This residence was constructed according to a house plan that was popularly used during this era and is similar to numerous late Bungalow designs available through architect/builder’s plan books and Aladdin type house catalogs. This residence exhibits design features and historic building fabric that reflect the popularity of earlier Craftsman/Bungalow designs in combination with Colonial Revival design modes: a one and ½ story multiple front gable form with a projecting central entry porch. The house is distinguished by a symmetrical facade, low roof pitches, a clipped main gable and prominent gable end returns. The entry porch includes tapered wooden columns supported on low wire cut brick plinths. The windows are typically double-hung and cottage type with prairie style upper sash members. The house is currently clad with vinyl or aluminum siding laid over the original narrow clapboard.

Detail for 6733 ELLIS AVE / Parcel ID 3468800145 / Inv # 0
Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Metal - Aluminum Siding Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable - Clipped 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): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: Extensive
Changes to Plan: 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.

Photo collection for 6733 ELLIS AVE / Parcel ID 3468800145 / Inv # 0

Photo taken May 02, 1997

Photo taken May 02, 1997

Photo taken Sep 18, 2014
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