Dearborn House

Address: 1117 Minor
Date Built: 1907
Original Architect/Builder: Henry Dozier
Description: American foursquare with Classic embellishments
Original Owners: Henry H. Dearborn

Historic Seattle's Role:

In 1997, through a generous patron donation, Historic Seattle received the funding to acquire the Dearborn House for its offices, thereby ensuring its survival. Currently it is only one of four remaining significant homes on First Hill. A residence until 1953, the home was then converted to professional offices and occupied by a succession of medical practitioners.

Current and Future Uses:

Currently, the Dearborn House functions as the permanent administrative offices for Historic Seattle. The exterior of our signature property has been rejuvenated, thanks to funding by the Washington State Historical Society Heritage Fund. The work included repairs to wood trim, stucco, and decorative metal detailing on the house, and the exterior was completely repainted to the historic true colors. The exterior project was completed in 2003. Stickney Murphy Romine Architects provided design services and Rafn Company was the general contractor.

Heritage architect Donald Luxton has provided expert paint analysis to identify the Dearborn House's original color scheme. After hours of detective work scraping and peeling away paint layers, Luxton has brought to light for us the house's true colors which include taupe and two shades of green.

The next phase of work will provide improvements to make the first and lower floors fully accessible. A vertical platform lift serving both floors and the parking lot will be fitted into the rear stairwell, replacing the stairs up to the first floor. New stairs will be added on the exterior of the building, screened by landscaping. An accessible bathroom will be added on the first floor, and the bathroom on the lower floor remodeled for accessibility. Plans have been approved and the work is expected to begin in late 2003. Funding has been committed by the Heritage Fund and Cultural Development Authority.

Renovation and upgrades are now completed on the second and third floors, which added necessary office space, thus allowing for greater community accessibility. Future goals for its use include: housing the Patsy MacKay Memorial Historic Preservation Library; housing the Northwest Center for Architectural Preservation; becoming a venue for educational programming; serving as a model for historic preservation; serving as an incubator for preservation thought and action; and operating as a facility for public use by community groups.