PART I

CHAPTER 1:  INTRODUCTION

 

Apartment buildings built before World War II are a strong presence in established Seattle neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, the University District and Wallingford. Numerous arterial streets are lined with these three-to-five story brick or stucco structures.  They have long been, and remain, important housing resources for various segments of the population.  However, they have been largely ignored in studies of the city's architecture, urban fabric and development patterns.

 

This thesis analyzes pre-war apartment house development in one Seattle neighborhood, a portion of the south slope of Queen Anne Hill.  It examines land use in the area from 1900 to the present, looking at the development pattern and changing uses.  This information is used to help identify the role of these buildings in the city's overall social and urban fabric.  Several examples of various types of apartment houses illustrate the building types, styles and landscaping typically found before World War II.  To provide an historical context for the discussion of Seattle apartment houses, the thesis briefly discusses multifamily development and typical building forms in Europe, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.                                              

 

The primary question this thesis considers is:  What was the role of apartment houses in Seattle's physical and social development prior to World War II?  Several closely related questions about Seattle's architectural and social development are:  To what extent did Seattle have its own apartment tradition?  What was this tradition and how did it differ from those found in cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York?  In a city of single family homes, who chose to live in apartment houses, and why?  Clues to these answers can be found in questions such as:  What building types, decorative features, and landscaping were commonly used?  What densities were developed, in terms of building and unit size?

 

These apartment buildings are also important community features and land use elements.  How did they affect land use?  How have land uses changed around them?  How have the neighborhoods changed, and how have these buildings changed with them?

 

This work is significant to planning, urban design and preservation because of the dearth of documentation of Seattle's apartment house tradition.  The building and development documentation in itself will be useful for those interested in architectural and community history.  At a time when city and state governments are encouraging higher densities with respect for neighborhood character, relatively little attention has been paid to what we already have.  These buildings are still valued elements in the community, serving people of varied socioeconomic backgrounds and housing needs.  By analyzing the success of these buildings, we can better understand how housing problems can be solved today while retaining local character.  As development pressure increases in this close-in neighborhood, greater recognition of the significance of these buildings to our city's past and present may increase awareness of this important design and housing resource, and facilitate preservation and continued use of these structures.  It may also encourage consideration of their designs and other attributes in the planning of new multifamily housing that fits well into existing communities.

 

This thesis has four parts, divided into nine chapters.  The first section briefly discusses the methodology used to do the study, describing the sources and techniques.  The second section contains basic background information and a history of Queen Anne and the study area, including a detailed description of the development pattern on the four streets being studied (Queen Anne Avenue North, West Highland Drive, West Olympic Place and West Roy Street).  Part III turns to apartment development specifically, focusing first on the historic context of apartments elsewhere and then on conditions specific to Seattle and Queen Anne, with illustrated examples.  Part IV contains findings, conclusions and suggestions for further studies to increase the knowledge of this building type.  A list of pre-war apartment buildings in the study area, the bibliography and a literature review follow.