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Overview

Iconoclastic architect Robert G. Reichert, Jr., created a startlingly original design for a retired US Navy officer and insurance agent, WIllard H. Egan, and his wife Mary J. Egan. The Egans lived here for 13 years.

Building History

Avant-garde Seattle architect Robert G. Reichert, Jr., (1921-1996) designed this residence for US Navy Rear Admiral Willard Egan (born 03/10/1910-d. 11/19/1998 in AZ) on a lot located in a greenbelt just south of Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. Prior to building this house,

Willard Egan was born in Cumberland, RI, to Margaret Dickie Egan (born c. 1888 in Glasgow, Scotland-d. 10/1982 in RI), who came to the US as an infant. Her father Thomas William Dickie (born 05/05/1863 in Scotland-d. 01/19/1939 in Lonsdale, RI) worked as a weaver in a Cumberland cotton mill in 1910. Margaret was likely not married long, as she lived with her father and two sons without her husband as recorded in the 1910 US Census. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Cumberland, Providence, Rhode Island; Roll: T624_1439; Page: 7a; Enumeration District: 0088; FHL microfilm: 1375452, accessed 04/06/2024.) Margaret also lived on her own in Cumberland in 1920, working as a spinner in a local cotton mill. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Cumberland, Providence, Rhode Island; Roll: T625_1672; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 103, accessed 04/06/2024.) The 1935 RI State Census indicated that Margaret was divorced and worked as a winder in a Cumberland, RI, cotton mill. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Rhode Island, U.S., State Censuses, 1865-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, accessed 04/06/2024.)

By at least 1927, Willard Egan had joined the merchant marine. He worked as a crew member of the Black Diamond Steamship Company's SS New Britain, which arrived in New York, NY, from Antwerp, Belgium, on 01/26/1927. He served as a 24-year-old oiler on the tender USS Argonne in 1934. The Argonne arrived in Providence, RI, from Tampico, Mexico on 10/11/1934. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, Dc; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving At Providence, Davisville, Melville, Newport, Quonset Point, and Tiverton, Rhode Island; Fall River, Massachusetts; and New London, Connecticut, Aug. 1918-Nov. 1954; Series Number: A3468; Record Group: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; Record Group Number: 85, accessed 04/06/2024.)

Living in Providence, RI, he obtained a license to be an assistant engineer on steamships from the US Deparment of Commerce on 01/07/1938. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Riverside; Riverside, CA, USA; Merchant Marine Applications For License of Officers, 1900-1937; NAID: 7591749; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation; Record Group Number: 41; Box Number: 59, accessed 04/06/2024.) A US Navy muster roll listed Egan as a "Musician, 2nd Class" (perhaps an error in classification) on the USS Argonne on 09/30/1941. This document listed him as having joined the US Navy on 10/04/1938. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, United States; Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949; Record Group: 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798 - 2007; Series ARC ID: 594996; Series MLR Number: A1 135, accessed 04/06/2024.)

He worked as a Lieutenant in the US Naval Reserve beginning in 06/15/1942. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., Select Military Registers, 1862-1985 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors, accessed 04/06/2024.) During the course of his naval career, he would rise to the rank of Rear Admiral.

Egan wed Ruth A. Strickland (born 03/10/1911 in RI-d. 09/26/1997 in FL) during the late 1930s, but he spent periods away from her while he was in the US Navy. In 1940, Ruth lived with her parents and the two children she had had with Willard--Priscilla and Dean--in Cumberland, RI. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Cumberland, Providence, Rhode Island; Roll: m-t0627-03764; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 4-92, accessed 04/06/2024.) In 11/1940, Willard worked for the Employers Liability Insurance Company, Incorporated, in Boston, MA, although he and his wife lived in Providence, RI. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Rhode Island, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 50, accessed 04/06/2024.) He and Ruth had at least five children together.

In 1950, the US Census located Egan living on his own in Portland, OR, in Room #319 of the apartment building at 1318 SW Alder Street. He worked as a "casualty engineer" for an insurance company and may have been in Portland for business. His wife, however, lived in the same dwelling as his mother In Cumberland, RI, with their five children as per the 1950 US Census. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Portland, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: 2719; Page: 54; Enumeration District: 37-666, accessed 04/06/2024.) It is not clear when he separated from Ruth Strickland, but it was before the design and construction of this house in the late 1950s.

He married Mary J. Egan and with her planned the house. As noted by Reichert historian Jeff Murdock, Mary Egan worked most closely with Reichert. Murdock also indicated that the Egans lived in this small and unorthodox house between for 13 years. (Conversation with Jeff Murdock at the Egan House, 04/06/2024.) When they moved into this house is not clear. The Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1960, (p. 457) indicated that Mary and Willard resided at 10023 68th Avenue South at that time.

Historic Seattle restored the house and owned it c. 2008.

Building Notes

In 05/1979, the Egan House was offered for sale for $109,500. The sales ad for Albright Realty in the Seattle Times, said of it: "A home created ahead of its time! Architecturally designed by Robert Reichert Jr. in 1957, this home was possibly one of Seattle's first Contemporaries. You've probably seen it as you drive along Lake View Boulevard and commented on its originality. Now, you can own it." (See "Albright Realty Inc. Ad," Seattle Times, 05/20/1979, p. D4.)

Reichert created at least three preliminary designs for the Egan House. In 1959, it cost $10,762 to construct.

The steep, narrow stairs of the Egan House reminded one of ship's stairs, something familiar to Willard Egan.

On August 17, 2008, Historic Seattle staged, "1958-2008 Fifty years of the Egan House," from 1-5 PM, a celebration of the house's history and Historic Seattle's involvement with its preservation.

Historic Seattle scheduled an open house on 04/06/2024 before selling the Egan Residence.

Alteration

A second story deck--originally built in the summer of 1987-- had deteriorated seriously by 2008; I.L. Gross Engineers and James Sprague of Sprague Construction, worked on the renovation of this 250-foot deck, replacing 15-foot support beams. As Historic Seattle wrote in its newsletter of January 2009, "The project scope of work included small details that should negate future detioration and structural compromise. Flasjing was installed on the two new support beams and new ledger, and pressure treated framing and composite Tre decking was used. Structural upgrades included increasing the size of the metal support posts' concrete foundation and adding metal strapping to structurally tie the two new support beams to the wall framing of the Egan House." (See "At the Properties, Egan House Deck Replacement Project," Preservation News, vol. 35: no. 1, 01/2009, p. 7.)

Demolition

The Egan House was seriously threatened by demolition in 1989.

PCAD id: 8399