Ward House (Seattle) facts for kids
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Ward House
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Ward House, 2007
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| Location | 520 E. Denny Way Seattle, Washington |
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| Built | 1882 |
| Architectural style | Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001277 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | 16 March 1972 |
The Ward House is a house on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington, USA. Having been built in 1882, it is one of the oldest houses in Seattle. Existing houses reportedly built before 1882 in Seattle include the 2629 East Aloha Street (1881), 727 28th Avenue (1870) and Maynard's House located at 3045 64th Avenue Southwest (approximately 1860 ± 2 years).
The building, originally at 1427 Boren Avenue, was designed, built and originally owned by George W. Ward. In 1962, the architect Victor Steinbrueck wrote of it, "…this fanciful example of residential Victorian carpenter Gothic, one of the most interesting and apparently sound of the rare few remaining… could be made delightfully attractive by sympathetic preservation…"
Nonetheless, it became vacant in 1974 and was scheduled for demolition in the mid-1980s. The owners, Dr. and Mrs. Michael Buckley, donated the structure to Historic Seattle, a nonprofit architectural preservation organization chartered as a public development authority by the city. Historic Seattle in turn sold it to David Leen, a local lawyer, for $7,500. On 6 April 1986, Leen moved the Ward House from its First Hill lot on Boren Avenue between Union and Pike Streets to its current location at the corner of E. Denny Way and Belmont Avenue E. Leen worked to restore the building using fixtures and furniture from the original time period. The building was occupied by Leen's law office, as well as several other solo practices, until 2016. It is now owned and occupied by Tola Capital, LLC, who have since modernized the interior fixtures and décor, and opted to repaint the exterior, leading to some controversial opinions throughout the community.
Besides being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building is also an official City of Seattle landmark.
- George W Ward Biography http://archive.org/stream/volumeofmemoirsg00lewi#page/286/mode/2up
- Robert Ketcherside, CHS Re:Take | Onward for the Ward House, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
