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Overview

This Georgian Colonial residence, designed originally for Puget Mill stockholder William Walker, has served as the home of the President of the University of Washington since 1932. Walker's daughter, Lena Maud Walker Ames (1868-1931) and her husband, lumber executive, Edwin Gardner Ames (1856-1935), inherited the house and lived here until her death in 1931.Ames donated the house to the UW after his wife's passing. Columns Magazine, a UW alumni periodical, noted that prior to 1932, UW Presidents resided somewhere on either the first Downtown Seattle campus or the later Montlake campus. It stated: "But that changed in 1932, when UW President Lyle Spencer moved into Hill-Crest, the former home of Maude and Edwin Ames. The couple had no heirs, so they decided to give their wealth—and their home—to the UW as a bequest. The three-story house had 35 rooms, 11 bathrooms, an elevator and a pipe organ. Because the Walker and Ames families’ wealth derived from the timber industry, the interior included perfectly matched panels of Douglas fir in the formal entrance hall and Honduras mahogany in the music room." (See Tom Griffin, Columns, "Back Pages: Home Pride," 12/2007, accessed 10/07/2016.)

Building Notes

Bebb and Mendel designed this house--known as Hill-Crest--in a grand interpretation of the Georgian Colonial Style.

PCAD id: 3662