South Seattle: Adopt A Highway

When I lived in upstate New York for a couple of years, I loved looking at all the beautiful, decaying Victorian farmhouses scattered throughout the countryside. Coming from Seattle, where even our oldest buildings seem pretty new, these weary mansions seemed like precious relics. It was weirder still to see neon beer signs in the windows. (College town.) I wanted to yank them up and transplant them into an imaginary world where This Old House was a free service for everybody. Go Norm Abram, go.

I got a twinge of that old feeling when I saw this listing go up. This one is a sweetie, although it could use some love. It has some unique touches, as well as the basic qualities of a well balanced, aesthetically pleasing house. The price per square footage is remarkably low at $168, akin to the amount asked for at the stripped fixer-upper I reviewed last week. And with six bedrooms and four bathrooms, it’s big enough to start your own bed and breakfast, or commune. But, I’m going to have to say it: I wish someone could yank this house up and transplant it just one more block away from Rainier Ave. It’s a cruel twist of fate that almost one hundred years after the construction of this house, Rainier has not grown prettier at this gritty intersection in Hillman City. I know the community presence in this area is strong and there are real efforts at making Hillman City safer, cleaner and more prosperous. Progress is being made, but it’s a slow process and it makes for a real pickle in cases like these.

Details: $419,000. Previously sold in 1990 for 86,500. 2,500 square feet. 6 bedrooms, 4 baths.