Cultural Resources Overview for the Fremont Carquest Development Site, Seattle, King County, Washington
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CULTURAL RESOURCES OVERVIEW FOR THE FREMONT CARQUEST DEVELOPMENT SITE, SEATTLE, KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION – NOT FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION May 18, 2015 Project Number 32264 Report Number 15-93 SWCA ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS SEATTLE, WASHINGTON CULTURAL RESOURCES OVERVIEW FOR THE FREMONT CARQUEST DEVELOPMENT SITE, SEATTLE, KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON Report Prepared for CoU LLC 2501 N. Northlake Way Suite 201 Seattle, WA 98103 By Amber Earley and Eileen Heideman May 18, 2015 Project Number 32264 Report Number 15-93 CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION – NOT FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION SWCA Environmental Consultants 5418 - 20th Avenue NW, Suite 200 Seattle, Washington 98107 CULTURAL RESOURCES REPORT COVER SHEET Author: Amber Earley and Eileen Heideman Title of Report: Cultural Resources Overview for the Fremont Carquest Development Site, Seattle, King County, Washington Date of Report: May 18, 2015 County(ies): king Section: 18 Township: 25N Range: 4E Quad: Seattle North Acres: 0.7 PDF of report submitted (REQUIRED) Yes Historic Property Inventory Forms to be Approved Online? Yes No Archaeological Site(s)/Isolate(s) Found or Amended? Yes No TCP(s) found? Yes No Replace a draft? Yes No Satisfy a DAHP Archaeological Excavation Permit requirement? Yes # No Were Human Remains Found? Yes DAHP Case # No DAHP Archaeological Site #: ABSTRACT SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) completed a cultural resources assessment for a private development on two parcels on North 34th Street in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. SWCA carried out background research to identify previous cultural resources investigations and known archaeological and historical sites within the project vicinity, and reviewed historic maps, published historic, ethnographic, and environmental information. SWCA’s architectural historian made a project reconnaissance to record existing historical buildings on the parcels. The buildings are recommended not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Because background research and field reconnaissance suggested moderate potential for cultural resources to be present, SWCA recommends monitoring during construction to determine if significant archaeological resources are present. No further work is recommended for the buildings. SWCA Environmental Consultants i May 18, 2015 CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION NOT FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION SWCA Environmental Consultants ii May 18, 2015 CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION NOT FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................i LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 Regulatory Setting .................................................................................................................. 1 METHODS ................................................................................................................................. 4 Background Research ............................................................................................................ 4 Structure Survey ..................................................................................................................... 4 NATURAL SETTING .................................................................................................................. 4 Geology and Geomorphology ................................................................................................. 4 Project Area Boreholes ....................................................................................................... 6 Vegetation .............................................................................................................................. 6 Fauna ..................................................................................................................................... 7 CULTURAL SETTING ................................................................................................................ 7 Prehistory ............................................................................................................................... 7 Ethnography ........................................................................................................................... 8 History .................................................................................................................................... 9 Project Area Land Use History ..............................................................................................11 Previous Cultural Resource Investigations ............................................................................20 BUILDINGS ..............................................................................................................................22 FRE-15-01 Fremont Electric Company Building .................................................................22 FRE-15-02 Fremont Electric Company Warehouse ...........................................................22 FRE-15-03 Carquest Auto Parts Building ...........................................................................24 ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL FOR PROJECT AREA ........................................................25 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................25 REFERENCES .........................................................................................................................27 APPENDIX A: HISTORIC PROPERTY INVENTORY FORMS ................................................ A-1 SWCA Environmental Consultants iii May 18, 2015 CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION NOT FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Project location. ............................................................................................................................. 2 Figure 2. Air photo showing parcels and existing buildings. ......................................................................... 3 Figure 3. Bird’s Eye View, 1891, showing project area. ............................................................................. 10 Figure 4. Lake Washington Ship Canal under construction. ....................................................................... 12 Figure 5. Canal plan map, 1891, showing project parcels. ......................................................................... 13 Figure 6. Sanborn map, 1898, showing project parcels. ............................................................................ 14 Figure 7. Sanborn map, 1905, showing project parcels. ............................................................................ 15 Figure 8. Historic photo, 1911, along North 34th Street (Ewing Avenue), view northwest. ........................ 16 Figure 9. Historic photo, 1911, along North 34th Street (Ewing Avenue), view east. ................................. 17 Figure 10. Sanborn map, 1919, showing project parcels. .......................................................................... 18 Figure 11. Sanborn map, 1951, showing project parcels. .......................................................................... 19 Figure 12. Buildings locations, showing construction chronology for FRE-15-01. ...................................... 23 Figure 13. Recorded buildings, view to the northeast with the Aurora Bridge in the background. ............. 24 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Previous Cultural Resource Investigations Within Approximately ½ Mile of the Project Area. ... 20 Table 2. Previously Recorded Buildings on Adjacent Blocks. ................................................................... 21 SWCA Environmental Consultants iv May 18, 2015 CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION NOT FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION INTRODUCTION CoU LLC plans to construct a mixed use building on parcels 1972202710 and 1972202730 in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle (Figures 1 and 2). Three existing buildings on the parcels were constructed between 1917 and 1958 (FRE-15-01), in 1966 (FRE-15-02), and 1976 (FRE-15-03) and house several retail businesses. CoU LLC contracted with SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) to provide a cultural resource assessment of the parcel and to evaluate the existing buildings for their significance. Regulatory Setting The project is within the area designated by the City of Seattle as the Government Meander line buffer, established in the late 1800s and approximating the historical Lake Union shoreline. Because of its proximity to the Meander Line, the project is subject to the Seattle DPD Director’s Rule 2-98. The Rule elaborates on State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) (RCW 43 21C) Historic Preservation Policy and provides guidance for identification, protection, and treatment of archaeological sites on the City of Seattle’s shorelines. As noted in the Rule, many of Seattle’s existing and former shoreline areas may be sites of potential archaeological significance due to settlement patterns of Native Americans and early Euroamericans. Archaeological sites may be directly or indirectly threatened by development or redevelopment projects, and the SEPA