Seattle native Benjamin Lukoff is a freelance writer and editor. He's been interested in local history since the age of six, when his father bought him 'Pig-Tail Days in Old Seattle' at the MOHAI gift shop.

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The Pacific Science Center courtyard is on a list of endangered landscapes

King County Fair saved from budget axe, to have a 146th year after all

Marriage equality in Washington state

KKK had state headquarters in Seattle, says history project

King County historic cemetery inventory: Your help needed

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What are Seattle neighborhoods' oldest houses?

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August 25, 1:46 PM

by Benjamin Lukoff, Seattle History Examiner

Ward House, at E. Denny Way and Belmont Ave. E.,
is Seattle's oldest house (ca. 1882). Photo by Jmabel,
Wikimedia Commons, licensed under GFDL.

To answer that question for Capitol Hill is easy: it's Ward House, originally at 1427 Boren Avenue but now standing at the corner of Denny and Belmont. Built around 1882, it's not only the oldest house on the Hill but the oldest house in the city.

But what about the city's other neighborhoods? I got to thinking about this the other day when reading Jess Cliffe's post at VintageSeattle.org about 1206 Republican — formerly the oldest house in Cascade (1890), now "a pile of old lumber and brick." If the 1114-1124 Republican homes are still there, I assume they inherit the title, having been built in 1900 and 1905.

The Seattle Public Library recently posted on this topic, and says "Another Northwest Index entry dated, November 1984, states that neither the Seattle Office of Urban Conservation, Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority, the Seattle Public Library’s History Department, GRA Library nor the Museum of History and Industry Library could identify the oldest building still standing in Seattle. That seems like a fairly definitive statement. At least for now."

That does bring up the question of whether there are any structures in Seattle that are older than its oldest house, but for now Ward House's place seems to be pretty secure. But nobody seems to have an index of the oldest structures in each of Seattle's neighborhoods. Yes, this can be tricky due to the unofficial nature of neighborhood boundaries. And does Ward House qualify as the oldest house on Capitol Hill, since it was originally located on First Hill? What's the oldest building in Seattle that has never moved, I wonder?

All that having been said, we've got to start somewhere. Readers, do you have any candidates? For now, let's say a structure having moved doesn't matter. Then we've got:

Capitol Hill: Ward House
Cascade: 1114-1124 Republican homes
? : ?

Topics: neighborhoods , architecture , Capitol Hill , First Hill , Cascade

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Comments

The Pacific Science Center courtyard is on a list of endangered landscapes

1 comment

November 29, 11:08 PM

I hear from Historic Seattle that the Pacific Science Center courtyard is on this year's Landslide List of threatened modernist landscapes. Reads the Cultural Landscape Foundation's press release and Web site:While significant both regionally (as the... Read More
Topics: architecture , parks , Seattle Center

King County Fair saved from budget axe, to have a 146th year after all

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November 22, 11:40 PM

I noted last month that the King County Fair was in danger of being shut down after 145 years because of the $93,000,000 Ron Sims needed to cut from the county budget for 2009. (According to the County Council, the Fair costs taxpayers $318,000, not... Read More
Topics: government , Enumclaw

Marriage equality in Washington state

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November 20, 12:26 AM

Seattle was one of the many cities across the country which held a protest on November 15 against the passage of California's Propsition 8 and for marriage equality. Signs like the one at right and supporters' citation of Loving v. Virginia... Read More
Topics: government , racism , civil rights

KKK had state headquarters in Seattle, says history project

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November 13, 11:07 PM

An article in today's Seattle Times called my attention to what looks like the latest addition to the University of Washington's Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project Web site: The Ku Klux Klan in Washington State, 1920s. "Wait a sec,"... Read More
Topics: neighborhoods , photos , University of Washington , racism , Belltown

King County historic cemetery inventory: Your help needed

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November 7, 11:09 PM

Again speaking of Comet Lodge Cemetery, I just got the following press release in Historic Seattle's latest Advocacy Update: The King County Landmarks Commission kicked off its Historic Cemetery Preservation Initiative last spring to provide financial... Read More
Topics: cemeteries , Redmond

University District Museum Without Walls holding community meeting November 18 at Hotel Deca

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November 6, 3:53 PM

The University District Museum Without Walls, whose steering committee I am on, is holding a community meeting on November 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hotel Deca (formerly the Meany Hotel) at 45th & Brooklyn. Here's the press release — hope... Read More
Topics: neighborhoods , University District , oral history , museums

A minor Ravenna landmark, erased: The Piecora's painted wall sign is gone

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November 5, 5:11 PM

I only lived on N.E. 55th Street for five years in the 1990s, but it holds a deep connection for me: my mother had her office there for over 20 years, my parents' first house together was there, I've had piano teachers and physicians' offices there,... Read More
Topics: architecture , photos , Ravenna , landmarks

Celebrate 155 — or 156 — years of Seattle elections: Vote!

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November 3, 11:58 PM

The date of the first election to be held in Seattle is variously given as 1852 or 1853 — either way, it resulted in Arthur Denny's being sent to the territorial legislature, and we haven't looked back since. So whether it's been 155 or 156 years... Read More
Topics: government , Elections 2008

Good Comet Lodge Cemetery article in the UW Daily

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October 31, 1:42 PM

Comet Lodge Cemetery, from Historic Seattle's Preservation Seattle Speaking of Comet Lodge Cemetery (scroll to the last paragraph), The Daily of the University of Washington (to give the paper its full title) ran an excellent article yesterday... Read More
Topics: Beacon Hill , Georgetown , cemeteries