Built for a Seattle Hardware Company founder, the Burwell House comes with a lot of hardware
A neighborhood of landmarks is poised to add another.
The Burwell House of Capitol Hill’s Millionaire’s Row is slated to be considered for protection of its historic features in a hearing scheduled for March.
Champions of historic preservation in Seattle might be falling over themselves to see the 1904-built 14th Ave E house designated. “It is challenging to find Arts and Crafts architecture in Seattle comparable to the Burwell House,” the report on the property compiled for the nomination hearing writes.
Situated on the southern end of the west side of Millionaire’s Row, the 6,570-square-foot house is within a few blocks of 11 properties designated for landmarks protections and the street as a whole won its listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. In addition to placing the amazing old houses under a review process for any significant architectural changes to their protected elements, the programs also make the properties eligible for grants-in-aid and the historic rehabilitation tax credit—which allows owners and some lessees to take a 20% income tax credit on rehabilitation costs.
The Burwell House has been owned by Bryce and Chris Seidl since the couple purchased the property for $775,000 in 1994. According to county records, the property was transferred into a Seidl family trust last spring.
(Image: Historic Seattle)
Belmont-Boylston ‘double house’ designation meeting
A 1901-era, three-story apartment building at 1411 Boylston Ave nominated for protections in January will move ahead with a meeting on designating the property this coming week. Possible protections for the so-called Belmont-Boylston “double house” are coming as Historic Seattle prepares to sell the property it renovated after purchasing a swath of properties in the area in 1989. You can learn more about Wednesday’s 3:30 PM landmarks board meeting (PDF) here.
101 years ago, the house was being built near what would become Volunteer Park for Anson and Gertrude Burwell. Anson helped build the Seattle Hardware Company into one of the economic engines of Seattle’s early 20th century growth. He was led the YMCA here as it grew into an influential force as Seattle boomed.
Their Craftsman style structure has survived as one of the purest remaining representations of Seattle’s grandest homes of the period.
“Situated between the Prairie and Craftsman styles, James Schack’s home for the Burwells
epitomizes Arts and Crafts ideals both inside and out and,” the report on the property reads. “Here one finds not classical columns, moldings, or details from Greek or Roman antiquity but indigenous materials used in a simple and straightforward manner, united by line and proportion, and embellished sparely with ornament largely drawn from nature.”
The house seems likely to find strong support from the landmarks board. The report notes that changes to the exterior over the years have been “modest” though it has undergone some significant interior renovations.
To be designated a landmark, the house’s nomination must be approved in March. A second designation meeting will then follow with the board considering which elements of the structure are worthy of protections. The Burwell House nomination meeting will be held March 5th:
Seattle’s Landmarks Preservation Board will consider the nomination of Burwell House located at 709 14th Avenue E. on Capitol Hill at its meeting on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. Members of the public can attend the meeting in person at the Boards & Commissions Room (L2-80) of Seattle City Hall, located at 600 4th Avenue. The meeting can also be accessed using the WebEx Event link or telephone call-in line provided in the agenda that will be posted to the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods website approximately one week prior to the meeting. At this time, many of the Board members and presenters may be participating remotely rather than in person.
The public is invited to participate in the meeting and make comments regarding the nomination. You may sign up to address the Landmarks Preservation Board for up to 2 minutes on matters on this agenda. Online sign-up will begin two hours before the 3:30 p.m. meeting start time and will end at the start of the meeting. Members of the public who wish to speak can either use the call-in number, the WebEx link, or may speak in-person at the meeting’s physical location. The agenda for this meeting will be sent approximately one week prior to the meeting, and will be posted on the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods website.
Written comments are also accepted and should be received by the Landmarks Preservation Board no later than 3:30 p.m. on March 4, 2025. Written comments can be submitted:
Via email: erin.doherty@seattle.gov
Via US Mail: Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, PO Box 94649, Seattle WA 98124-4649
A copy of the Landmark Nomination is posted on the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods website under the heading of “Current Nominations.” The nomination application will also be available through a link on the meeting agenda.
A landmark nomination provides a physical description of the building, object, or site, and information on its history, current and historic photos, site plans, maps, drawings, and more. To learn about the nomination and designation process, visit our webpage.
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