| Historic Name: |
Bordeaux, Thomas, House |
Common Name: |
|
| Style: |
Other, Queen Anne - Eclectic |
Neighborhood: |
Capitol Hill |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1903 |
| |
| 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. |
|
In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
|
|
This distinctive house was one of the earliest on the block, designed in 1904 by architect William D. Kimball. Kimball worked in Seattle for only a few years, arriving here from the Midwest in 1901. He designed several small buildings and houses before his death in 1907. The original owner of the house was Thomas Bordeaux, a prominent businessman who owned the Bordeaux Lumber Company and the Mason County Logging Company. Among his holdings were the long-forgotten company town of Bordeaux in Thurston County, which thrived from about 1900 until the 1940s, when the mills closed. The house was later owned by many years by Gordon T. Shaw and his wife Fredericka Shaw was a grain dealer and active in local affairs such as the Arctic Club. The Shaws lived here from 1935 into the 1960s. It was later owned by Frank and Eileen Wieman, a Boeing engineer.
This section of 14th East was known as Millionaires' Row, an “Avenue of Mansions” built by many of Seattle's early business leaders built homes. At that time, the street had a spectacular view, thanks to clearcutting, and it was a logical place to build after the west slope and First Hill were developed. The Olmsted Plan recommended that this be a parkway, forming a grand entrance to Volunteer Park. However, the property owners were given control of the street between Prospect and Roy streets. A median strip in the center was planted with shrubs, and each owner added street trees, creating the appearance of an avenue. It became a showplace, attracting dignitaries such as President Harding and busloads of tourists en route to the park. It was the main route for funeral processions going through the park to Lakeview Cemetery, north of the park. To deter the stream of traffic, an ornate gateway was built at Roy Street. But by 1924 traffic had become so bad that property owners petitioned the Park Department to take back control of the street. The gate and the median plantings were removed as a traffic hazard.
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| This house is notable for its Bavarian/Tyrolean style, with the notable hexagonal turret and tall brick chimney at the southwest corner. Cladding is brick on the first story and stucco on the upper levels, with Bavarian “fachtwerk” or half-timbered detailing. The house is two-1/2 stories high, with a complex roofline featuring a primary hipped roof, a large gabled dormer on the south elevation and a small dormer on the west side. Near the northwest corner is a gabled bay on the second and third stories, piercing the eaves. Most windows are one-over-one sash, except for nine-over-one windows in the gable end. The top level of the turret has very distinctive round windows with leaded glass and very decorative surrounds. Another unusual feature of the house are the porches. The west elevation has a recessed porch in the center, with a columned porch above. A second pair of porches is at the southwest corner, with two brick piers on the first floor supporting the open second-story porch with a plain balustrade. The south elevation has a round window with ornate surround on the second floor. The extensively-landscaped property is surrounded by a granite retaining wall and is approached by stairs at the corner, flanked by granite columns. |
|
|
| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Stucco |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition-Shingle |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Manufacturing/Industry |
| Integrity |
|
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
|
| Major Bibliographic References |
|
Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
|
|
Woodbridge, Sally and Roger Montgomery. A Guide to Architecture in Washington State. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1980.
|
|
Calvert, Frank. Homes and Gardens of the Pacific Coast. Vol. 1, Seattle. Beaux Arts Village: Beaux Arts Society Publishers, 1913.
|
|
Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
|
|
King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
|
|
City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.
|
|
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Capitol Hill: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
|
|
|
