William R. Brehm and George O. Brehm operated produce and grocery businesses in Pike Place Market. Ellsworth Storey (1879-1960) built two adjacent homes for them in the Madrona Park neighborhood. The design of paired structures seems to follow a pattern from his own home built beside his parents' house nearby in Denny-Blaine. The Brehm houses share a common entry walk on a modest-sized lot.
Storey used native Northwest materials such as stained wood and shingles, clinker brick, river stone, and white window frames and cases. The influence of the Craftsman style was seen throughout the homes.
In 1978, a fire heavily damaged the house at 219 36th Avenue. Architect Robert H. Eyre, who lived at 221 36th Avenue, contributed to a restoration that preserved the original design. In 1979, the residences were designated a Seattle Landmark. Address: 219-221 36th Avenue E, Seattle.
Sources:
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Landmarks Preservation Board, 700 Third Avenue, 4th Floor, Seattle, Washington; Lawrence Kreisman, Made to Last: Historic Preservation in Seattle and King County, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999), 65-66.
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