Harry
W. Treat Residence
1 West Highland Drive
This house, designed
by Charles Bebb and Louis Mendel, is one of Seattle's largest
and has both architectural and historic significance. The original
owner, Harry Whitney Treat, came to Seattle around 1903 arriving,
it is rumored, as the richest man in town the moment he arrived.
He was heavily involved in local business activities and real
estate. His developments in North Seattle include Loyal Heights
(named for his daughter), Sunset Hill and much of Blue Ridge.
Treat built this 64-room house as his in-city retreat, at the
tremendous 1905 cost of $101,000. After his sudden death in
1922, his wife sold Golden Gardens to the city for parkland.
The house was too large for the small family and in 1923, it
was purchased by George Lemcke & Company, and converted
to apartments. It was used in that manner until 1975, when
it was purchased by Gary Gaffner, a Queen Anne preservation
advocate, who renovated the house into 15 "luxury" apartments.
The house still contains monitoring equipment for the Counterbalance,
the name given to the cable car that ran up adjacent Queen
Anne Avenue. The exterior is largely intact, although some
alterations have been made to the dormers and windows on the
south elevation, and two porches have been enclosed. The brick
exterior replaced wood siding in 1948. A garage addition in
1914 (destroyed) was designed by Bebb & Gould, the successor
firm to the original architects.
Charles Bebb and Louis Mendel were the most prominent architects of their period,
specializing in mansions for Seattle business leaders. Bebb was educated in
private schools in England and Switzerland, and studied civil engineering in
London. After working for a period on construction of a railroad in South Africa,
he became an engineer at an Illinois terra cotta company, where he developed
commercial fireproofing materials. He served as construction superintendent
for Chicago's Auditorium Building, designed by Adler and Sullivan. The firm
sent him to Seattle to superintend construction of the Seattle Opera House,
which was never completed due to the 1893 Financial Panic. Bebb returned to
Seattle to work for the Denny Clay Company and opened an architectural practice
in 1898. He worked for Spokane architect Kirtland Cutter superintending construction
of the C. D. Stimson House on First Hill, which introduced him to prominent
local business leaders. He was in partnership with Louis Mendel from 1901 until
1914, when he went into partnership with Carl Gould.
Louis Mendel came to the United States from Germany in 1882, working in Cleveland
and in several west Coast cities before settling in Seattle in 1899. He initially
worked as a draftsman for Charles Bebb. They formed a partnership in 1901,
and until 1914 were prolific designers of homes, hotels and commercial buildings
for local business leaders. Among their extant work is University Heights School,
the Schwabacher Hardware Company warehouse (1905), the Walker-Ames House (1907),
the Hoge Building (1911) and many residences. After his partnership with Bebb
dissolved, Mendel continued to practice, designing primarily residences and
other small projects.
The 17,046 square foot house currently has 15 apartments, averaging 1072 square
feet. Materials are typical of Bebb and Mendel designs, with red brick on the
first floor, buff brick cladding on the second floor and stucco and wood half
timbering above. It is basically side gable in form, with a large projecting
gabled bay on the front. There are several small gabled dormers, two to the
west of the center gable and one to the east. Most windows are double-hung
sash, with some casement windows; most are leaded glass with either tulip or
mushroom patterns. East of the entry is a group of four leaded glass windows;
above are two groups of three leaded double-hung windows. The third floor gable
end has a group of four small windows with large brackets below. The recessed
entry has been modernized with glass doors. The south elevation has deep eaves
with curved brackets and mostly newer windows, with a deck added between two
gables. The east gable end has curved bargeboards and a dormer with tulip-patterned
casement windows; lower floors have tulip-patterned double-hung windows and
mushroom-patterned casements. Also on this side along Queen Anne Avenue, is
the original garage door (hidden) and a tall clinker brick wall descending
the hill. At the northeast corner, next to the busy street, is a small enclosed
entry porch with arched doors with strapwork and leaded glass.
The house was recently
designated a Seattle
landmark by the Landmark Preservation Board and affirmed
by the City Council.
(Summary
from Historical Survey for Queen Anne -- Mimi Sheridan, contributor)
Presentation on
the Treat House (high speed
access recommended)
Buffalo Bill Cody came to Queen Anne in 1915
to celebrate a birthday of his grand niece and Loyal Treat,
daughter of Harry Treat. The genesis of today's Buffalo Bill
museum was a part of that visit. Read more here.
|
Treat
Residence 2005
(click on photos
for larger image)
Porch
detail
H.W.
Treat ca.1920
(photo
courtesy of MOHAI)
More photos
Link to
City Council Approving Landmark Designation |
