Is this the oldest house in Seattle?
Christine Palmer of Historic Seattle had this to say in response to yesterday's post, "What are Seattle neighborhoods' oldest houses?":
Last April I canvassed Seattle's professional historians to discover the oldest standing structure in the City. Their consensus was a house at 3045 64th Avenue S.W. near Alki Point, portions of which date from the 1860s. It was originally built a half-block to the north and was sold by Doc Maynard to Hans Hanson and his brother-in-law Knute Olson in 1867. The relocation date is unknown. Today the house is severely altered and would never be recognizable by those who owned it in the past; consequently it could not be a candidate for a city landmark designation. The photo from Paul Dorpat includes Hans Hanson in the black coat to the right of the door in the 1890s. The scallop trim is now gone.
Presumably Ward House, named in yesterday's post as the city's oldest house, is often called that because it is substantially unaltered and is indeed a city landmark, as well as being on the National Register of Historic Places? Then again, Ward House is no longer used as a residence, but the Alki house still is.
Any opinions, folks? Does the Alki house win, as it's still used as a residence, and its oldest portions date from somewhere near 20 years before Ward House was constructed? Or does Ward House win, as it would be recognizable by George Ward?
I do still wonder, too, what's the oldest building in, say, my own neighborhood of Roosevelt, or my old neighborhoods of Hawthorne Hills and Washington Park. I'd love to get the beginnings of a database going.
Incidentally, all these dates reminds me that, though Seattle does indeed have a rich history, we're only just getting started. Santa Fe's Palace of the Governors has been standing nearly 400 years, and if we're going to restrict ourselves to single-family residences, Dedham, Massachusetts' Fairbanks House is pushing 375. And that's just the U.S.! I'm sure a Londoner, Parisian, or Muscovite (not to mention a resident of Rome, Beijing, Athens, Jerusalem, Cairo, or the like) would be even more incredulous than a Bostonian, Philadelphian, or New Yorker to hear that our city's oldest structure was erected no earlier than the Civil War... Frankly, growing up in Seattle, buildings from the 1930s have always felt old to me.
But I digress. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this particular issue and any candidates you might have for oldest house or other structure in your own neighborhoods.
PS Thanks, Christine, for the comment and picture!
Comments
The "big, funky, old green house" from 1904 is Wedgwood's oldest house. People still live there, but of course it's slated to be demolished and have townhouses go up in its place. http://www.wedgwoodaction.com/2008/01/should-this-1904-wedgwood-house-be.html
I'm not sure if I'm proud to say that my house at 1041 NE 100th Street in Maple Leaf stands almost un-improved since it was re-constructed here in 1923 or 1924. I discovered a keepsake above a doorway frame. A February 1924 charge card receipt from Frederick and Nelson. The name on the card was Costello.
It was a chicken ranch built in an orchard. Old photos show young apple trees and the coops.
My house was first assembled in Seattle at the turn of the century near the intesection of NE 75th and Roosevelt.
The earliest layer of wallcovering consisted of 1897-98 issues of the Spokane Chronicle as I recall. This led me to believe that the house may have first been built in Spokane.
The oldest house on the block is across the street. It predates mine by one year and it was built by a man whose last name was Brady. His wife Grace outlived him by many years and what I know of the early neighborhood comes from her. She died almost twenty years ago.
The Brady house has been extensively remodeled, but the old roofline can still be discerned.
The yard of the Brady house was once the finest azalea garden in Seattle and featured a large dogwood which still stands. The yard was so beautiful and famous that it appeared in full color on the cover of a Sunday magazine back in the 1950s.
Thanks Maria and Bart.
Maria: I know that house! Sorry to hear it's going to be coming down. Do you know when?
Bart: How on earth did that credit slip manage to survive up there for so long? A better question is what was it doing there in the first place? Very interesting about the Spokane paper, though I don't see why someone would bother moving an entire house across the state. Interesting, too, about the Brady house. I don't suppose you have a scan of that cover?
I believe the Wedgwood house has already passed its original projected demolition date, so it's hard to guess when it will actually come down. There's a photo online at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Seattle_-_7321_35th_NE_04.jpg if anyone wonders what house we're talking about.
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