Historic Seattle weighs in on the oldest-house-in-Seattle question

August 27, 12:09 AMSeattle History ExaminerBenjamin Lukoff

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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!