Demolition of old Capitol Hill home bugs neighbors - Blogs - SeattlePI

Old house to become new apartments?

133 14th Ave. E.

The old ?Weatherford? house in Capitol Hill (left) will become a four-story apartment building (right). That is, if things go as planned by the current property owner, Murray Franklyn Companies, a Bellevue builder of suburban homes.

The two-and-a-half story house was built in 1902 on nearly 11,000 square feet. A large horseshoe driveway fronts the entrance. Here's the house in 1941. (Photo courtesy David Weather, via Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination )

The house today, with a glassed-in porch and other changes. It's known after its longtime, current occupants, Weatherford Antiques, whose family owners bought the house in 1972. (Photo from Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination )

A streetcar once ran along 14th Avenue in front of the house in 1911. In 1975, a neighborhood survey by Folke Nyberg and Victor Steinbrueck listed the house as a ?building significant to the city.? (1972 tax assessor photo, via Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination )

The building sits across East John Street from the Bischofberg Violins shop, which is housed in a historic, can?t-miss, bright-blue building. Both buildings are examples of Victorian-era architecture. (Google Street View)

The Weatherford house?s most famous resident was Ella McBride, a prominent fine-arts photographer from the 1920s to the 1960s. McBride lived in the house for more than 20 years, until 1962, when she was in her 90s. She also ran her studio in the house. (1910 photo by Edward Curtis, via Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination)

An early design proposal by Weber Thompson Architects last year showed a 4-story apartment building with 42 units. There would be 4 to 6 ground-floor work-live units, and underground parking for 24 cars. (Image by Weber Thompson, via Seattle Design Review Program. )

The ground-floor work-loft units would have stoops to add character and make the building friendlier. But a review board was concerned about dead-looking streets, saying the units probably wouldn't ?engage with pedestrian activity at the street level.? (Image by Weber Thompson, via Seattle Design Review Program. )

The inside of the house has gone through several big remodels through the years, which have removed much its historic value, said owner David Weatherford. Here?s the front porch, which became glassed-in in the 80s. (Image from Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination, via City of Seattle. )

The house now serves as an antiques showroom and interior design office for Weatherford Antiques. (Image from Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination, via City of Seattle. )

Inside Weatherford Antiques. Developers, who want to tear down the building, have nominated it for landmark status, to see what, if any, preservation issues they may face. (Image from Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination, via City of Seattle. )

The proposed apartment building would be near Safeway and Group Health. (Image by Weber Thompson, via Seattle Design Review Program. Labels by seattlepi.com.)

It would also have would have views toward Elliott Bay, downtown and the Olympics. (Image by Weber Thompson, via Seattle Design Review Program. )

Looking spooky in about 1939, the earliest year for known photos of the house. Victorian elements include the oval window near the front door. (Photo courtesy of David Weatherford, via Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination )

More antiques! (Image from Nicholson Kovalchick Architects landmark nomination, via City of Seattle. )

For 110 years, the old, graceful mansion has sat on a tree-lined street in Capitol Hill, once housing a famous photographer and now an antiques shop. But it soon may come down, to make way for a big apartment building.

That?s making some people unhappy in the dense Seattle neighborhood, where redevelopment often comes with a fight. Recently, outcry erupted over a plan to turn Capitol Hill?s funky Melrose Building, home of Bauhaus coffee shop, into a 7-story apartment building.

The 1902 mansion, at 14^th Avenue East and East John Street, is often called the Weatherford building, after its current, longtime occupants, Weatherford Antiques. Before that, it was the home and studio of Ella McBride, a photographer well-known from the 1920s to 1960s.

The plan for the building calls for four stories, 42 apartment units and parking for 24 cars.

?As a nine year resident of Capitol Hill, my heart sank when I saw the tell-tale land use placard of doom in front of this beautiful, historic home,? one neighbor commented on the Capitol Hill Seattle blog. (Many more comments there).

?With the plague of big box, no personality mixed use condo and apartment developments popping up left and right, we owe it to our city to preserve and restore these gems where we can.?

But Weatherford Antiques owner David Weatherford said the building was in bad shape. He sold it last year, after concluding he couldn?t fix the building?s crumbling brick foundation.

?I?m sad,? he said about leaving and relocating elsewhere. ?It is going to come down.?

But first, there?s a Landmarks Review Board hearing Wednesday (pdf)to see if it?s historically worthy. Then there?s more design and permitting reviews.

See pictures for more details.

And here?s a few places we miss in Capitol Hill.

9 Capitol Hill places we miss

Favorite neighborhood spots now closed.

1. Jade Pagoda opened in 1943 and closed in 2006, when it was known less as a Chinese restaurant and more as a friendly dive for cheap drinks. Photo by Meryl Schenker/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

2. Funky Coffee Messiah had a die-hard following on the Hill as a vegan refuge and antidote to Starbucks. It closed in 2006. Photo, from 1997, seattlepi.com archive.

3. Ernie Steele's, namesake bar of a UW football star, was known for its walls of hunting trophies and booths of hard-drinking old-timers. It lasted 46 years, until it became Ileen's Sports Bar in the early 90s. That bar also closed. Photo courtesy Louis Chirillo.

4. Manray Video Bar: This popular gay bar on Pine Street had a futuristic, space-agey theme, but videos do sound pretty dated now. It closed in 2007 to make way for condos. (Joshua Trujillo / Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

5. Broadway News had foreign newspapers, niche magazines and an adult section in the back. Pictured here is Joy Andrada laughing at a premature headline the day after the Nov. 2000 presidential election. (Grant M. Haller / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

6. Beloved for breakfast and German chocolate cake (at the same meal, anyone?), Cafe Septieme closed in 2009. Before it was Septieme, it was Andy's Cafe. (Grant M. Haller / Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

7. Bailey/Coy Books: In the 80s, this was the only place to buy gay and lesbian books. Closed in 2009, it was Broadway's favorite indie bookstore. Pictured is Michael Wells (left), who bought the store in 2002 from Barbara Bailey (right). Photo by Paul Joseph Brown/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

8. Long before Jamba Juice's mall smoothies, Gravity Bar in the old Broadway Market made carrot wheatgrass shakes kinda sexy. Photo, from 1994, seattlepi.com archive.

9. Cafe Minnies was the place to go for a late-night grub in your flannel shirt and Doc Martens. That is, after you were at Moe's Mo' Rockin' Cafe, or ARO.space. Photo, from 2001, from seattlepi.com archive.

Visit seattlepi.com?s home page for more Seattle news. Vanessa Ho can be reached at vanessaho@seattlepi.com or 206-448-8003 and on Twitter as @vanessaho.

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