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Overview

The up-and-coming architectural firm of Bassetti and Morse designed this single-family residence for Gerald and Mildred Martin in 1952. In 1950, Gerald Martin worked as a commercial artist for an advertising agency in Seattle, while Mildred was employed as a clerk / typist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Building History

By the early 1950s, the firm of Bassetti and Morse emerged as one of the leading young architectural firms in Seattle, winning several design awards in both local and national competitions. Their house for the Martins proved to be widely heralded, earning a great deal of press coverage for the firm. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) named it a National Merit Award winner in 1954 in the Single Family Residence Category.

Gerald Richard (born 01/20/1920 in Tacoma, WA-d. 01/12/2003 in Seattle, WA) and Mildred Ann Martin (born 07/26/1926-d. 08/31/2021 in Seattle, WA) commissioned Bassetti and Morse to erect this small, 920-square-toot house in the View Ridge neighborhood. Gerald Martin (1920-2003) worked as a commercial artist with an office at 1331 3rd Avenue in Downtown Seattle. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1955, p. 897.)

William Teufel (1925-2007) designed the landscape surrounding the Martin House.

Prior to moving into this View Ridge House, in 1950, Gerald R. and Mildred A. Martin resided in an apartment house at 2321 Yale Avenue North (Unit #303) in the Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood. (See Source Citation United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: 2803; Sheet Number: 5; Enumeration District: 40-349, accessed 06/25/2022.)

Building Notes

Images of the Gerald Martin House are included in Photo Collection #191, American Institute of Architects Photograph Collection, 1943-1976 held in the University of Washington Libraries, Department of Special Collections, Seattle, WA.

The Martin House won a Second Place Award in the Residential, Concrete Block category in the Unit Masonry Association's Puget Sound awards programs c. 1954. (See Unit Masonry Association, Incorporated, Unit Masonry Idea Book, [Seattle: Unit Masonry Association, Incorporated, c. 1954], n.p.)

The house was for sale in 06/2022 for the first time, with an asking price of $1.3 million. The Martin House occupied a 6,700-square-foot lot.

Gerald Martin was quite tall, standing 6-feet, 4-inches tall, according to his World War II draft registration card. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Washington, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 117, accessed 06/27/2022.)