Open to View: Laurence Colman EState
April 28, 2013 |
Open to View is a popular series that takes members and their guests into historic private residences and gardens that are rarely or never open to public view. One of the properties we'll explore is this outstanding estate in West Seattle.
In 1922, Laurence Colman opted for a permanent house on property purchased by his father, pioneer railroad and real estate developer James Colman, in 1905. Architect Arthur Loveless chose the English Tudor style for the home at Laurentide. The grounds reflect many years of family gardening passion. Laurence died in 1935. Daughter Isabel and Lawrence Pierce and their five children returned from Olympia in 1940 and occupied the house. Lawrence’s passion was rhododendrons, and during the years they lived at the house, he developed an outstanding species garden. Son John Hutchins Pierce and his wife Leilia and their three children occupied the house and John continued to add to the garden his own plant interests. Historic Seattle toured the house in 2006. New owners since 2009 have taken a careful approach to their improvements, upgrading old systems, remodeling the kitchen which had already been remodeled, and simply fixing what needed to be fixed in the public rooms. They also reconstructed a failing patio and redid the basement to provide new laundry, media, and exercise rooms and easier access to the lower level garden. The house has panoramic views to Puget Sound, and the colors of rhododendrons at their peak await our members.
|
Website:
www.historicseattle.org |
| |
| Location Information |
|
Laurence Colman Estate |
|
Seattle, WA |
| |
| Contact Information |
|
Larry Kreisman, Program Director |
| Email:
larryk@historicseattle.org |
| Phone:
206-622-6952 |
|