Sheridan divided the history of apartment buildings into three basic periods: 1920 to 1930, 1945 to about 1990 and 1990 to the present. The Great Depression and World War II prevented the construction of new buildings of every type from about 1930 to 1945. Broadly speaking, the distinctive features of each period reflect decorative elements, building materials, retail uses and how automobiles are stored.
The 1920s style
Throughout the 1920s, Seattle’s apartment houses were nearly all relatively small buildings with small units and within easy walking distance of streetcar lines taking working-class folks shopping or to work. In Uptown, there are more than 20 buildings of the kind. Almost all have concrete foundations with a wood-frame structural system above, enclosed by brick veneer. There were no examples of mixed-use buildings in the period.
Mixed-use is generally defined as buildings with apartments and retail stores in the same structure. In recent times, offices are sometimes in the mix. In the 1920s, retail outlets tend to cluster in one-story buildings also on streetcar lines.
In the 1920s, entrances, cornices and some windows are frequently framed by decorative terra cotta. Sometimes, the terra cotta expresses medieval themes; sometimes, Turkish forms appear, and sometimes, Gothic ones are selected. In a few garish examples, designers combined terra cotta of every possible style.
Most of the multi-family buildings of the decade hug the street and have no vegetation or surrounding landscapes. The occasional U-shaped building with a courtyard does appear, creating pocket parks and soft edges that add to neighborhood character.
By the end of this decade, occasional garage entrances appear in foundations, and some buildings such as the Narada on West Highland Street have freestanding garages for tenant vehicles. Sheridan implied that the high cost of elevators probably restricted building height in this period.
The McKean (1404 10th Ave. W.) is a simple but typical example of the 1920-1930 era. It is marked by a simple, stepped cornice, terra cotta keystones above all windows, a slightly projecting two-story brick entrance pavilion and a pronounced terra cotta central door surround. Located on a streetcar line, it didn’t provide parking.
Shortly after WWII, new apartment buildings start popping up. Many retain the brick veneer of the late ‘20s but wrap around corner windows and other feats of structural daring-do appear.
In the 1950s, huge cars, high-flying fins and interstate highways made the automobile king, so architects molded apartment design to accommodate parking. On Queen Anne Avenue and Olympic Place, lots of buildings on stilts garaged automobiles on what used to be the first floor. Concrete or stucco surfaces appear on the exterior of these buildings, with occasional decorative motives, including patterns of woven concrete recalling baskets. The entrance tower — the only substantial part of these buildings still reaching the ground — remains an important contributor to neighborhood character.
Uptown sees very few of these buildings, with the mix of freestanding homes, apartment buildings and commercial structures holding steady through the period.
The current streetscape
In the 1990s, the city crafted zoning codes to reduce the number of automobiles on the street by requiring fewer parking places per apartment. Surface parking just about disappears, and in an unexpected echo of the 1920s, cars are once again hidden, unseen from the street.
We have a good example in the Victoria townhouses on West Comstock Street between Second and Third avenues West. Although cleverly fenced in, these lowrise townhouses once again have distinctive features such as gables, projecting bays and lush landscaping to mitigate building impact and build neighborhood character.
Sheridan concluded by discussing recent buildings on Queen Anne Avenue North. She noted that, unlike multi-family buildings of the 20th century, nearly all recent apartment houses (Expo, Sweetbriar, Towne, Gilbert) create a dynamic streetscape by mixing retail shops at street level, with housing above. For seismic reasons and maybe, in some cases, to save money on elevators, newer buildings repeat the structural system of the 1920s with a concrete lower level and no more than five wood-framed stories above.
Sheridan also pointed out that, like many 1920s buildings, Sweetbrier (Queen Anne Avenue and Crockett Street) has a corner feature. In the modern case, the round form isn’t the building entrance (wherever is that?), but rather a store with an imposing sign trumpeting sweet yoghurt concoctions.
Sheridan stressed that the variety of forms on Queen Anne’s newest buildings relieve the monotony of buildings of the last half of the 20th century. She also noted that while most green courtyard spaces have migrated to private rooftops, no one walking by can see. The Towne on Queen Anne Avenue features a courtyard, albeit totally paved, and public art.
The overscaled bronze sculpture of “Boomer” and his ball by Georgia Gerber clearly attempts to affect neighborhood character just like her works “Rachel, the Market Pig” at the Pike Place Market or “Husky Spirit” in front of the Husky Stadium. Queen Anne residents may find their fondness for Rachel and the husky converting them as admirers of this new neighborhood feature.
Next month, on Jan. 22, the Queen Anne Historical Society will pursue a relatively unknown aspect of Seattle’s built environment, when Diana James, author of “Shared Walls: Seattle Apartment buildings, 1900-1939,” reveals that women developed many of our multi-family buildings.
MICHAEL HERSCHENSOHN is president of the Queen Anne Historical Society (qahistory.org). To comment on this column, write to QAMagNews@nwlink.com.