If we're to be honest with ourselves, 95% of Seattle neighborhoods are total trash (Tacoma: middle-class, health insurance)

[homesinseattle]

Very few, fnh, I know . Although you are correct that there are some on Queen Anne (and I'll add Capitol Hill), Seattle's major boom happened in the early 1900s, we see many more of the American Foursquares that were in favor then https://www.oldhouseonline.com/artic...can-foursquare.

Victorians had begun to be viewed as dark inside and not a user friendly floor plan, lots of wasted space. Interestingly, as it was conceived as the major town in this region before Seattle got the railroad, Port Townsend has many Victorians. The massive building boom of Craftsmans, of course, happened late teens through the 20s.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by fnh

Er, Seattle's early days coincided with the Victorian era. There are Victorian style homes in Seattle's oldest and priciest central neighborhoods where, when homes were being built into the twentieth century, the style was very popular. I myself live in a ~120 year old Queen Anne style Victorian featured in the book Classic Houses of Seattle. Some may call it tacky but I cry foul at the faux - my home was built while Queen Victoria yet reigned.

Thank you for posting this. I was going to say that Seattle was founded smack in the Victorian era. Whenever I hear the term "Queen Anne Victorian", I always think of Seattle's Queen Anne Hill.

[fnh]

Oh, my home is in the Central District, not in the Queen Anne neighborhood. Queen Anne here refers to the particular style of Victorian, of which there are many more styles than commonly known:

Many are unaware that "Victorian" is not a single architectural style, but a conglomeration of styles ranging from Gothic Revival to Queen Anne and Eastlake... with different design influences, including English, French, Italian, and Swiss. - from the book I mentioned above (by Caroline Swope).

(And again, Eastlake here refers to the architect, Charles Eastlake, and not to the Seattle neighborhood. Very confusing!)

[Canamlian]

Originally Posted by Neerwhal

People prefer to show their wealth in much more subtle ways.

I'm not even going to share how. I'll just say, the things described in this thread as "nice" I find tacky, nouveau-riche and just... gauche. Might as well put up a sign in the front yard with your job title and income and ask everyone to fill out a form about theirs as well. Even when you drive to Medina, you won't find houses like the ones you guys are describing here. They're much more tasteful.

On the contrary, the faux-Victorians (because as others have pointed out, we weren't a city in the Victorian era) are mainly found in new suburbs where land is cheaper.

I know more than one millionaire here and they are not talking about their jobs or showing me granite countertops and a faux-Victorian house (tacky). But I know they have money because of other subtle lifestyle effects... There are many multi-millionaires living in little mossy mid-century homes on Mercer Island. You might think their neighborhoods are trashy and it's "like Detroit".

Too bad you have no idea what people are actually enjoying. They are spending their money in places and doing things that you have no access to, and keeping it on the DL to keep social strivers out.

Don't get me confused with some others in this thread, including the original poster. My post wasn't about wanting ostentatious nouveau riche homes with plaster columns and faux torches. It wasn't an observation on architectural styles at all but rather on how it's not uncommon at all to see really poorly maintained properties in expensive neighborhoods. I'm talking about houses with holes in exterior siding, collapsing carports, cracked windows, etc. This isn't just in recently gentrified neighborhoods either - I looked at a house in Enatai that was right next door to a tear down.

No real judgment but something I find curious compared to other places I've lived (and I wouldn't consider the people here generally any less ostentatious in their wealth). I'm not in the camp of calling these neighborhoods "total trash".

[Neerwhal]

Real Victorians can be gorgeous and there are some in Seattle, though few.

I am not trying to disparage authenticity but to question whether it makes sense to demand that an entire city, the vast majority of which was built in the 20th century, look like it was built 200 years ago.

When I am talking about faux I mean fake, imitation. You won’t find many real Victorian homes in Bellevue or Kirkland. We have authentic midcentury modern for the most part, and then a lot of 1990s imitative styles (not the genuinely good postmodern looks but you know what I mean, that look that is in between an oversized condo and a McMansion).

Edit: Craftsman. That is what they are called. Though to my mind they are not very crafted at all.... some look very nice and in place at least and I can see how as a style some may prefer it but overall, that is not a sign of quality in and of itself.

As for the holes in the walls... I think this is lack of segregation. Traditionally Seattle has had working class and rich families pretty mixed. If you see a poor family in the midst of a nice neighborhood because they got lucky isn’t that a good sign?

Also—old Seattle families are much less ostentatious. The Jaguars, Maseratis and so on are often driven by new wealth, or rather, new spenders.

[Scrat335]

Yesterday afternoon I drove to Fauntelroy Park. I was in West Seattle to look into some side work on a guys home heating system and stopped off there. I noticed that the area didn't look like it used to. It's a little more "worn" looking. Very few new cars, most older than 10 years. Houses with peeling and weathered paint and dirty siding. Not like it used to be if memory serves me well.

The guy who's house I went to is struggling financially due to his wifes illness. His ductwork is falling apart and he doesn't have the money to fix it. His furnace is 18 yrs old and on its last legs. I don't work for nothing and I can't take a car in trade for my time and effort.

Lets be honest people. It's not good.

[elkotronics]

And no one would dare do something for someone out of the kindness of their heart, either. After all, this is America, right? America has made a business out of stepping on people to get what they want (American Indians, remember?). No, what we do is gripe and complain and moan and groan, and if anyone snipes back on us, we drop a bomb on them.

And if some poor person who's wife is sicker than hell asks for a favor, we don't do favors do we? Nah. We're big, tough Amuricans. The money machine must keep rolling and tumbling.

Creepy feelings from this person. He's another one of them.

[Highpointer]

Originally Posted by elkotronics

Seattle is beautiful, and, they have the world's finest professional football team.

This is not January 2014. After this past Sunday's game, few would agree that Seattle has "the world's finest professional football team."

Redskins 17, Seahawks 14 (game on Nov. 5, 2017 at Century Link Field).

[Highpointer]

Originally Posted by Canamlian

I’ll admit that I’ve been surprised how many houses in nice neighborhoods in this area look dumpy. Eastside is no exception. Lots of run down houses with mossy roofs and 2 cars in the front yard that haven’t run in 10 years even in Bellevue and Kirkland. Don’t think I’ve seen it to this extent in “upscale” neighborhoods in any of the previous 10 cities I’ve lived in.

Since I geocache extensively, I visit neighborhoods in all cities of the Puget Sound region. I used to live in the greater Phoenix area, and extensively geocached in that region for many years.

One thing I've noticed throughout the Seattle area is the large number of inoperable motor vehicles, with long-expired registrations, that people have left in the driveways, yards, and on streets throughout the metropolitan area. This is not just in poor areas or rural areas, but in upscale neighborhoods in cities like Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and Issaquah. I don't recall noticing as many inoperable vehicles at homes in the greater Phoenix area.

Also, I have noticed mossy roofs. Moss does not grow much in the Phoenix area, due to the dry climate, but I would expect that letting moss accumulate on roofs would likely reduce the structural integrity of the roof, causing it more likely to leak and fail.

I have also noted vegetation overcoming houses, due to lack of pruning and maintenance. Overgrown vegetation is a great fire hazard during a potentially hot and dry summer. I fear that if this winter's precipitation is below normal, and the following summer is hot and dry, a small fire could spread into a conflagration that could destroy numerous homes near Cougar, Squak, and Tiger mountains, and in many other areas of the Puget Sound region, like the fires that destroyed many homes in neighborhoods in Sonoma and Napa counties in California last month.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by fnh

Oh, my home is in the Central District, not in the Queen Anne neighborhood. Queen Anne here refers to the particular style of Victorian, of which there are many more styles than commonly known:

Many are unaware that "Victorian" is not a single architectural style, but a conglomeration of styles ranging from Gothic Revival to Queen Anne and Eastlake... with different design influences, including English, French, Italian, and Swiss. - from the book I mentioned above (by Caroline Swope).

(And again, Eastlake here refers to the architect, Charles Eastlake, and not to the Seattle neighborhood. Very confusing!)

Thanks for posting!


I don't agree with what homes said, about Victorians being dark inside. Maybe during a certain era, a certain style was like that: long interior hallways, or something. But Victorians are known for huge windows (think how hard they were to heat in a NW climate!), which let in lots of light. Maybe the smaller ones had fewer windows, or something (windows add to building cost), and were darker. But many of them are light and airy. The only "waster space" I can think of would be the custom of having two parlors. But those were for the more wealthy folks. The smaller Victorians only had one. Extra space in the home denoted wealth. Still does, I guess.