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Overview

Architect Oliver P. Dennis (1858-1927) designed this residence originally for Charles Marble. It was purchased by Addison Foster (1837-1917), a wealthy lumber man who arrived in Tacoma in 1888. He served as President of the Saint Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company, and became a US Senator from Washington State from 1899-1905. Born in Wabasha County, MN, Foster built a fortune selling grain and real estate, before moving to Saint Paul, MN, where he became involved in the lumber business. By the late 1880s and 1890s, many lumberman in the Midwest were casting their eyes on the rich stands of timber still existing in WA and the Pacific Northwest. The Stimson Family moved from Michigan and Chicago to the West Coast at this time, and Frederick Weyerhaeuser (1834-1914) shifted his base of operations from the Midwest to WA State after 1900.

Building Notes

Architect Dennis designed the Marble House in the Shingle Style, with its varied and irregular massing of forms tied together under a sheathing of cedar shingles. This variety of form was seen particularly well at its rooflines, with its prominent conic roofs apparent on the front facade.

PCAD id: 21568