Beaux Arts Village

Beaux Arts Village ferry dock, c. 1910

I read in the Seattle Times this morning that home prices increased to an average of $415,000 in King County, which is a five-year high.  In areas close to downtown like our West Seattle neighborhood, there's been an enormous building boom and it seems like construction sites are springing up everywhere.

This growth is part of a previous mayor's plan to designate West Seattle as an "urban village." The idea is that folks have to live somewhere, and everyone can't have their own single-family dwelling. The flaw in the densely packed "urban village" concept is that people don't walk, bike or take a bus to work like they're supposed to.  They all drive cars and try to get across the same bridge at the same time.

Most of the new buildings in West Seattle are multi-story apartments or condos with depressing retail space leased out on the bottom. They all seem to be cut from the same glass and steel cookie cutter.  Just my opinion.  Some of the funky, small houses that gave the neighborhood its interest and charm are being demolished, and three high-end townhouses selling for $500,000 each are squeezed on the one tiny lot, looming over their neighbors.

The $415,000 average home price is not very meaningful because there is so much variation between neighborhoods in King County. Over in Bellevue for example, areas along Lake Washington such as Beaux Arts Village have the highest median price in the county.

Beaux Arts Village started out as remote artist's colony in 1908. It was an hour's ferry ride from Seattle and there was no electricity or phone service. Water was hauled up from the lake in buckets. Fast forward now to an exclusive residential enclave, a separate town within a city, where a craftsman cottage will set you back a cool million.

I've suddenly become a mini-expert on this area because I just finished a finding aid on a collection of Beaux Arts Village historical photographs.  It was published a few weeks ago (that highlighted link should take you to the document.)  This one had some really interesting research on the artist's colony and its founder, Alfred T. Renfro.  Have I mentioned lately that I love my MOHAI job?

Beaux Arts Village Art Studio, c. 1915