This is a good example of a Queen Anne cottage featuring some limited Free Classic detailing. This structure exhibits a high degree of integrity.
A complete permit history, and a complete record of ownership and occupation have not yet been prepared for this property; however, the house appears to have been owned by Mary E. Harris in 1939. The current owners apparently acquired the house from the estate of Fumiko Okamura in 1985.
This is a one story, clapboard, shingle and vertical board siding clad, wood frame single-family residence on a concrete foundation, over a half basement. According to the King County Property Record Card, the porches and at least a portion of the house were originally built on post and pier foundations.
The hip roof with intersecting, pent enclosed cross gables is a defining feature of the Queen Anne style. Decorative shingles, typical of late Victorian era design, adorn the gables. The facade complexities added by the projecting, hip roofed entry porch and the window bays at each of the cross gables are typical elements of Queen Anne work. The windows and doors are also characterized by patterns and details customarily associated with Queen Anne design. The glazed entry door, and the curvilinear diamond muntin patterns characterizing the attic windows and entry door sidelights, are particularly emblematic of that style. Tuscan columns supporting the hip roof of the entry porch give the house a slight Free Classic flavor.
This house was built in 1904 according to the King County GIS Center Property Report (accessed August 18, 2008) and the King County Property Record Card. However, a previous surveyor, Marilyn Sullivan, has indicated that the structure was built under Seattle Building Permit #42016, dated 1906.
This residence is nearly identical in design to a number of other houses on the street including the structure at 1643 S. King Street.
Modifications to the front porch include the addition of simple wood baluster railings at the stairs and porch deck. Photographs made in 1979 and 1992 suggest that the curvilinear diamond muntin pattern mentioned above graces the upper sash of the central window in the front facing bay; however, these muntins are not visible in the photograph made in 2008.
A second dwelling is located in a small cottage (626 sq. ft.) on the same site just behind (i.e., just south of) the house described above. This dwelling was addressed as 1637 S. King Street in 1937. It was built in 1907 according to the King County Property Record Card. The structure is difficult to view from the public right-of-way, but photos of the cottage made by the Assessor in 1937 show a simple gable roofed residence with elements of Queen Anne, Stick and Craftsman design. Because it was built after 1906, and because it cannot easily be observed, this structure was not surveyed.