Pioneer Houses

Address: 5341 Ballard Avenue Northwest
Date Built: c. 1890 Original Architect/Builder: Unknown.
Original Owners: Unknown.
Description: Carpenter-built wood frame

Historic Seattle's Role:

Pioneer Houses / Historic Seattle Archives

In 1975, two of the city's oldest houses were threatened with demolition. These small, carpenter-built wooden houses, typical of the late 1800s, sat on land in the International District that coveted by the management of an adjacent bank. The bank offered to donate the houses and help cover the cost of moving the structures if Historic Seattle could manage their relocation. After a search for an appropriate site in their original neighborhood was unsuccessful, Historic Seattle decided to move the houses to the newly created Ballard Avenue Historic District, where they were compatible with early Ballard dwellings. After relocation, the exteriors were fully restored and the interiors remodeled for adaptive reuse as professional offices.

Current and Future Uses:

Pioneer Houses / Photo: Marissa Natkin

The property was sold with a restrictive easement requiring owner to maintain the exterior appearance of the houses. The houses are used as professional offices.