Site Report #1: The Deep Read
One of the oldest looking houses on the block and an example of a retaining wall. 11th Ave NE between NE 55th and 52 Streets, Taken by Nolan Duckworth on 2017-01-16.
I first met my block through google maps, where it appeared on the map to be completely residential, with none of those peculiar pins popping up to indicate a business. Upon further inspection, this seemed to hold true. What I first noticed about the block was its positioning on a hill. 11th avenue lies on the bottom of this hill, while 12th is further up. Because of this, many of the houses on 11th avenue’s side use retaining walls to create yards and flat lots for building. So while walking on the sidewalk of 11th avenue one remains below the foundations of most of the houses that face 11th avenue, and of course the ones higher up on the hill that face 12th. This is a trend that is certainly unique to hilly cities such as Seattle.
A view of the very new apartments that sit on this block facing NE 55th St between 11th and 12th Aves NE. Taken by Nolan Duckworth on 2017-01-16.
A couple of houses on this block that give an example of how houses are built up instead of out on small lots. This photo is taken behind the houses from an alleyway, as the houses face 12th Ave NE between NE 52nd and 55th Streets. Photo taken by Nolan Duckworth on 2017-01-16.
This block is strictly residential. I couldn’t spot any architectural patterns, as there is a huge variety of houses on this block. Some houses look very old and plain like they were built before there was a lot of money in Seattle. Others, not so much. Three modern apartment complexes sit here, likely none of them being more than 10 years old. A few beautiful houses that incorporate striking themes of architecture using stone and brick also adorn the block. The rest of the houses lie in between the old and the new. It seems that the oldest houses are also the shortest, most being small and single story. Other houses seem to make do with the small lot sizes by building up instead of out. Especially the more modern houses and apartments. Also, the older houses have incredibly small garages that could by no means fit a modern SUV.
This is a map that I drew to show the buildings and how they relate to each other. It does not show the actual amount of houses on the block as there are many more houses than I actually drew. 2017-01-16.
This first look has brought many questions to my mind. First, I wonder about the history of the lots on this block. I wonder about which house is the oldest, and if it’s the original house on its lot. I wonder if there are any houses that are the original on their lots. Some are clearly not, such as the modern apartments. But the case could be that nothing was on the block until somewhat recently. And if so, why? Was the block always residential, did it ever play a different role than just housing people? When was the first house built, and by who? Who lived on this block then, and who lives there now? Was the division of the lots always like it is now? Or were there big lots and small lots, and did an alleyway always run parallel to 11th in-between it and 12th avenue?
This is one of the more archicteurally interesting houses on the block. The unqiue house faces 12th Ave NE between NE 52nd and 55th Streets. Photo taken by Nolan Duckworth on 2017-01-16.