Where's the oldest house in our neighborhood?

The Greenwood-Phinney Historical Society would like the answer to that question and invites neighborhood residents to help find it.

There are houses built before 1906 in the neighborhood. There may even be a few houses that were built before 1900.

Any residents who would like to summit a house for the title of oldest in Greenwood and Phinney should take a photograph of it and photocopy documents identifying the construction date of the house.

The winning entry will be determined by oldest construction or building permit date.

The winner will receive a copy of "Seattle's Greenwood-Phinney Neighborhood" signed by author Ted Pedersen and breakfast for two at Mae's Phinney Ridge Café.

Houses must be within the Phinney-Greenwood neighborhood, between 50th to 105th streets and Aurora to Eighth Avenue Northwest. But, contest entrants need not live within the neighborhood as the house does not need to belong to the person who enters it.

More than one entry per person is acceptable. Entries should include the name and contact information of the entrant.

Entries must be received by Jan. 15. Send photos and documents to:

GPHS Oldest House Contest
c/o Phinney Neighborhood Center
6532 Phinney Ave. N
Seattle, WA 98103

Below is advise on how to research historic homes courtesy of the Greenwood-Phinney Historical Society.

Where can I find a photo of my older home?

Puget Sound Regional Archives has a collection of King County property record cards beginning in 1937 and kept current to 1972.

These cards generally contain tax assessments, a photograph from 1937, approximate construction date, building use, small sketch of the footprint of the building and some floor plan diagrams.

For more information, call the archives at 425.564.3940 or email them at archives@bcc.ctc.edu. To access this information, you will need the tax identification number of the house or the legal description.

How can I find out the previous owners and the remodeling history of my Seattle house?

Contact the Department of Planning and Development for their Building Permit History files. Most of this information is available on microfiche.

The office is at 710 Second Ave., Seattle WA 98104. The phone number is 206.684.8850.

Where can I find the tax records for my home?

King County Tax Records are online for all homes currently standing. Dates older than 1900 are not always accurate due to the millennium computer glitch.

If your home has a tax record date of 1900 but may be older, you will want to research further. A building permit may be a better gauge of your home’s construction date.

King County Parcel Viewer is where you’ll want to go on the internet.

What about more information about previous owners?

The Polk Directories would be a great start. Take a look at the archival Polk Directories in the Central Library reference section. These will tell you the names of who lived at your home in years past.

What about even more information about previous owners?

Stay at the Central Library and look up census information! Now that you have the names, you can learn the number of family members living in the house and also what the head of household did for a living.