Ellsworth Storey Research

Since the early 1970s I have been interested in the work of Seattle architect Ellsworth Storey who practiced in Seattle from 1904 until the Great Depression essentially ended his career. His designs were generally quirky, standing out from the from the standard eclectic interpretations of his fellow practitioners.

After my retirement I finally had time to research his accumulated works seriously. I found a database builder, Tap Forms, that was easy to set up and started with the projects I already knew about. I then Looked through the Seattle Times archives for Storey projects and was about to start looking through the collected drawings the professor Victor Steinbrueck had donated to the University of Washington when COVID shut down Special Collections where the archive was kept. I had to set aside the project for a couple of years and work on other projects until the archive was once again available.

I've Spent the last six months visiting the library once a week and working through the catalog with the assistance of University of Washington graduate student and archivist, Kelly Daviduke.

I'm also thankful to have a copy of a thesis written in 1994 by University of Washington graduate student Chistine Carr focusing on Storey's residential projects.

I am getting close to finishing my initial look through the drawings. Here is a sample page from the database:

Sauna Project

I usually spend a couple of nights a week at my cabin on the north Fork of the Stillaguamish River. For the last three years I have been building a deck and sauna connected to the guest hut. Last week I finally got the benches in and I should be close to done this week.

Ravenna Park Walking Tour

Our local neighborhood organization, Friends of Ravenna Cowen (FORC), dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the Ravenna-Cowen National Historic District, held its fourth walking tour on Saturday, October 7, 2023. This tour focused on the Ravenna Park, the beautiful park that is adjacent to and south of the District. This park was a private destination park reached by streetcar between 1895 and 1911, before it was acquired by the City. I authored the tour and led one of the two groups through the park describing how the park appeared in 1909, the year of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, and subsequent changes over the years. I was assisted by board member and wife, Lani Johnson, as well as volunteer Dante Moreno. Board member Francesca Renouard and her husband Steven Pool led the second group, assisted by Dr. Lewis Johnson. Research on the park's history took several months and revealed the location and fate of the once majestic three hundred feet tall fir trees that were found within the park. Master Birder and naturalist Wood Wheeler also gave a presentation on the park's natural history.

The tour guide, as well as previous tours, can be downloaded from FORC's website here.

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