August 20th, 2008 @ 1:06 am by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings
Hi, I’m
1206 Republican — I wanted to introduce myself. I’m the oldest house in South Lake Union’s Cascade neighborhood, according to the
Department of Neighborhoods. I was built in 1890 and, along with my wood siding, have stuck around all these years. There’s
not many of us left from the old times here in the SLU. But being the oldest house in the neighborhood, you’d think I’d be turned into a small museum or a showpiece for the “roots of Cascade” to be polished up by Vulcan. But I’m going to be demolished sometime this week (I received a “stay” today when the city decided it needed more permits). A respectful and talented sketcher named Gabi
paid me a visit today — as did his friend
Eric. Colleen Rozillis, who reads this blog, also appreciates me. Come see me while you can and please, please don’t let them put up a
cheapshit condo in my place (my lot’s too small). Goodbye.
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| Entrance to 1206 Republican. |
Southwest corner. |
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| Southeast corner. |
Demolition has begun on the back porch area. |
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| Side of home with original wood siding. |
The house next door at 1210 Republican is also being demolished. |
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August 20th, 2008 @ 2:08 am
i like this blog.
it actually provokes me to think about the city i live in, unlike some others that seem content to wallow in cynicism and snide remarks.
thank you.
August 20th, 2008 @ 7:22 am
Sad. Any idea who owns this lot and the other historical houses?
August 20th, 2008 @ 7:54 am
Great find, Cliffe. Too bad not to get there a couple weeks earlier.
I would love to see an “oldest house” series per neighborhood. Capitol Hill would be a great place to start - there are a few non-wood-structure homes here and there that appear to use pre-iron-frame brick construction methods and I would love to learn more about these places. There’s one near the cathedral / school combo up toward 19th, IIRC. I’d have to do a drive by to find it more closely, though.
August 20th, 2008 @ 7:58 am
Hey while you’re in the ‘hood, what are the dates for that cluster of houses on the northwest corner of Fairview and Republican?
August 20th, 2008 @ 9:37 am
I read this post this morning and headed out thinking that I could get some pictures of the fine, old homes before they were destroyed. I only live one block away so I figured I could get there this morning before further destruction is wrought. I WAS WRONG!
The houses are already gone……reduced to a pile of old lumber and brick. The tree in front has been decimated, it branches cut all the way to the top. It looks so sad now. I took some pictures of the rubble (the de-construction guys were nice enough to not hurry me out of there while they did their job) and will be posting them to my Flickr site later today for anyone who wants to see what the sad ‘after’ looks like.
August 20th, 2008 @ 2:18 pm
yeah, i went back again this morning and saw the pile of rubble, pretty sad. i’ll look for your Flickr page Jonathan
August 20th, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
If it’s going to be demolished, it would be cool if they took it down piece by piece and got a good look at the construction techniques, quality of lumber, etc. Recycle the good stuff.
August 20th, 2008 @ 10:52 pm
Wow. That’s a shame.
I *would* be interested to know where the oldest houses in each neighborhood are. Wonder if Historic Seattle knows?
August 20th, 2008 @ 10:58 pm
It’s not listed by each neighborhood, but the Shelftalk blog recently did a post on the city’s oldest house:
http://shelftalk.spl.org/2008/08/09/seattles-oldest-house/
August 21st, 2008 @ 7:55 am
Great tip, Cliffe. I walked by that place every day for ten years, and never knew its’ provenance. I’m pleased to see I at least got the decade right. It surprises me that no house from 1860-1880 remains, though. Guess fire and water and mud will do for ‘em.
August 23rd, 2008 @ 11:34 pm
I’ve been trying to find out what they may be planning with this lot… live nearby, it’s really small, I am thinking parking??
any clues?
I know they are old, but walking by them 2 times a day, they were trashy, stunk and it makes sense they went.
Maybe they’ll plant some grass.
August 24th, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
Writing from the house’s point of view is sheer genius, Cliffe. I hope the right people pay attention.
September 2nd, 2008 @ 2:16 am
Just received this e-mail:
“Hi,
My ex-husband and I lived in this house from 1994 to 1997. Our son was born in the living room in 1996. We loved the houses and were offered them both for $160,000 when we first moved in, unfortunately we were not in a position to buy them at that time. So sad to see them go. We had been opponents of the Seattle Commons and I still have my button but it appears that Paul gets what Paul wants. Thank you so much for the web page, my family have lived in Seattle since the late 1800s and it is cool to think that they witnessed all of the changes over the last century, it helps to have pictures and stories from your page to elaborate my imagination about what their lives were like.
Sincerely,
Connie Evans”
January 12th, 2009 @ 2:09 pm
I live at 1172 Republican….a mere 100 feet from the vacant lot that these two houses sat in. For the record, I wish to say that I am glad these houses are gone. They were beyond being condemned. Towards the end of their lives they had some shady individuals squatting in them. The grass filled lot where they once stood is by far a vast improvement. I would love it if you did a piece about my house. It was built in 1892 according to the city. Original windows, original siding….hell, probably the original lead paint and asbestos insulation….If you wish to contact me about anything, please do not hesitate..
January 29th, 2009 @ 2:08 pm
I was sad to see these guys come down. It was unfortunate that they fell into such a sad state of disrepair but I would have loved to see them restored in a neighborhood which is rapidly wiping out all signs of it’s history. I read somewhere that many of these housed workers from the Troy which I ‘m also worried about as the block has been up for sale for some time.