Property Watch: A Queen Anne Mansion for a Seattle Lumber Baron

1904, Wood magnate John Stuart Brace and his company built a grandiose house on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill overlooking Elliott Bay. At the time, the notorious palatial homes of the neighborhood were for Seattle’s elite residents, including David and Louisa Denny, is just beginning to show up after the city’s electric trams finally started climbing that hill. The architects Kerr and Rogers designed some of them, including this one and the imposing colonial style Cline house in the same block.

This home was one of the first Mission Revival style homes in Seattle right before the Louis and Clark Centennial Exhibition in Portland sparked a small aesthetic boom in the Pacific Northwest. But it is unique compared to other houses of the same style in that it uses more artisanal wood.

A sunken porch with seven intricately trimmed arches spans the entire front of the house in a design usually made of masonry and terracotta, but instead carved from wooden planks and slats. The distinctly sculpted mission roofline lends itself to a dormer protruding from a hipped roof, and a river rock foundation adds an extra northwest touch.

Inside, Brace’s expert fir woodwork still shines in its full glory, with richly crafted box-beam ceilings and clad openings. The first floor is a huge collection of entertaining spaces. One recessed corner has built-in benches that curve around a brick fireplace. A larger living area has its own wooden front. Tiles with a tree design came from around the firebox itself famous ceramic figure William Grueby. The formal dining room has original built-in wardrobes and an idyllic stained glass window with a tree and a field. Also on the first floor is a study with its own small fireplace, surrounded by built-in bookcases.

The home has had some modern touches over the years, including a bright, more modern kitchen. The luxurious suite on the second floor was built around 2008: newer fixtures surround French doors in the bedroom, while a bathtub in the private bathroom offers a view of the Space Needle. Other bedrooms, while not as opulent, have more of the charm of 1904, including a bay window with a reading bench rolled into one.

The third floor, originally a mezzanine, was completely overhauled in 2000 to become a cave with skylights and city views. The basement is also finished and serves as a mother-in-law suite with its own kitchen and fireplace.

While John Brace – who played a pivotal role in building the Lake Washington Ship Canal – died in 1918, the house remained with the Brace family until at least the 1940s, with a brief interruption when they passed on to the French consul Louis from 1915 Heritte rented it out in 1917. Since then it has been very popular with practical owners. It was granted city monument status in the late 1970s and early 1980s while owned by James Moriarty. His daughter-in-law Jennifer Moriarty worked as an interior designer for the current owners Bill and Laury Bryant – no relationship with the Republican gubernatorial candidate. The Bryants have lived there since 1996, although her life draws her to other parts of the city.

List quick facts

170 prospectus St
Size: 7,019 square feet / 0.24 acre, 6 bedrooms / 6 baths / 6 fireplaces
List date: 17.09.2021
List price: $ 5,200,000
Listing agent: Anita Hearl, Windermere