A Historic House.
703 14th St, Bellingham, WA
The Clark Mansion
703 14th St, Bellingham, WA
Offered at $2,400,000 - ACTIVE
MLS# 1998532
Once in a lifetime opportunity to own an architectural significant 5,189-square-foot home in south hill overlooking the bay. Originally known as the Clark Mansion, located on a large corner lot, it was designed in 1890 by the architectural firm of Longstaff & Black, who were the architects for the Fairhaven Hotel & the Gamwell House. The spectacular grand staircase & entry hall has an unsurpassed level of detail & artistry. Grand, elaborate, stately home which has been owned by the current owner for over 50 years. Two staircases, an elevator, four fireplaces, and a top floor ballroom make this home beyond unique. A veranda wraps around the main level for enjoying the sunsets. Historic Fairhaven, the bay & trails are just a quick walk away.
Live life inspired!
Features:
Bedrooms: 7
Baths: 4.5
Square Feet: 7,402
Steps from Bellingham Bay
Third floor ball room
Elevator
two staircases
Walking distance to Fairhaven, trails along the bay & restaurants
Double lot
Located on desirable South Hill
Large bedrooms
Unfinished basement
The History
The original, Tudor style garage is located east of the alley immediately behind (east) the house. The structure is individually addressed at 710 15th Street and Is written up in its own record. It is a three car, side gable (with an east-west ridge) garage covered in composition shingles. The walls are clad in wood lap siding on the lower half, with nagging and half-timbering on the upper half. The entry of the garage is on the north side. The doors are wood sliders with 12-pane windows at the top. The other windows of the garage are 15/1 double-hung wood sashes.
Statement of Significance: The house at 703 14th Street is located on the former Morrison Donation Land Claim in the South Hill neighborhood. The building is located in the original town of Bellingham. According to the Whatcom County Assessor's office, this resource was built in 1890. The Fairhaven Herald reported that "Mr. A.H. Clark is having an elegant residence built at Fourteenth and Washington streets" [Washington was the former name of Easton Avenue] (Fairhaven Herald 12/29/1890). The Queen Anne house was designed by the architectural firm of Longstaff & Black (Koert & Biery, 111 ), who were the architects for the Fairhaven Hotel and Gamwell House. The "A.H. Clark House" is featured in Fairhaven Illustrated, a promotional booklet from 1890, and in the Herald by a drawing that shows the house having a curiously different tower on its NW corner from how it would end up being built. Though the rest of the design appears the same, the change to the tower makes sense if one considers the climate. In its formative design, the house boasted a tower with balcony open on three sides and topped by a spire. This was substituted with a tower that had an enclosed viewing room capped by a bell-shaped roof.
The large corner house actually has lived two lives. First as the imposing Queen Anne with a third-story bell-shaped tower and, second, as a Tudor with false timber and nagging. Only the Chuckanut stone retaining wall in front remains unchanged from the first incarnation of the facade, though the elaborate woodworking of the interior is still original. The house was built in the early 1890s for A.H. Clark, a banker from Dallas, TX, and close associate of James F. Wardner, who arrived in Fairhaven to become second vice-president of the Fairhaven National Bank (Fairhaven Herald 12/29/1890). He was also one of Fairhaven's early
mayors. The house was subsequently owned for many years by Frank and Anna Wood. Frank Wood was the son of Edwin Kleber Wood, the owner of Fairhaven's E.K. Wood Lumber Mill, where Frank was first a manager and later president. The ownership of
the Queen Anne house passed to the Woods in 1900, Clark having left Fairhaven during the economic depression that
characterized the later 1890s. The Woods had the house remodeled into the Tudor style in 1919 by architect T.F. Doan. In 1938 after Frank Wood's death, the ownership of the house passed to Wood's youngest daughter, Marian Susan, and her husband
Charles L. Sefrit. The Sefrits lived in the house until 1969 (Griffin, 151 ). Due to the level of integrity of the building, coupled with
the building's history, this resource is considered contributing to the historic district.
