T.G. Heuser Company

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T.G. Heuser Company

Provider of historical research and preservation services throughout the Puget Sound region.

06/28/2025

It's a bittersweet moment for me as a preservationist and architectural historian and something I feel like I never catch in-progress, but know happens all the time: seeing original windows get replaced and just 3 years shy of their centennial at that. Its a bummer for sure, but I realize it sometimes does not pencil out; they're poor insulators, and I imagine it's quite costly to make them double-pane. That said, just two years ago, the building was in very sad shape and I was concerned it would be abandoned and condemned as the previous owner had, among other things, allowed the heating system to fail in the middle of winter forcing most tenants to seek new housing, but the new owner is breathing new life into it with a complete renovation including a seismic retrofit that will insure it stands for another 97 years. I just hope he keeps the stained-glass shield windows in place and prices the units reasonably, but we all know how that goes in this city, but I digress...

The Gothic Revival style Ellenbert Apartments were designed by Seattle Architect Max Van House (1887-1966) and built in 1928 by George Nelson for the original owner Charles A. Swanson. Individual units came with built-in refrigerators, radios, and on-door Murphy beds.

06/03/2025

Last night I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with 100-year-old WWII veteran and former building contractor Bill Odgers. Behind us is a portrait of him and his wife Rosilyn who passed away in 2015. Bill is remarkably sharp for his age and had more stories to tell than I could possibly get down in just two hours. Eventually, I'll share the full story, but suffice it to say for now, he told me his secret to living a long life is happiness, joy, and laughter and you can't have peace without forgiveness. Sage advice. 🙏

04/10/2025

A few scenes that caught my eye while visiting Boston for the PRP4 conference a few weeks ago. Many thanks to and for hosting/organizing the conference and inviting me and to speak there. Many thanks also to for providing the travel funds. I had a great time and met some interesting people.

03/01/2025

Made a brief appearance in this month's The Seattle Times Now and Then feature online now and in print March 2 where I pose with audio engineer Mike Foss at the location of his former 1990s recording studio Stepping Stone Recording at Dexter Ave and Thomas St. This article spawned from a research project I did a couple years and thought would make a great Now and Then feature. Glad Clay Eals agreed and wrote this excellent piece. Be sure to give it a read, especially the pauldorpat.com version with more content and the feature I wrote for vanishing seattle in January (links in comments below).

Also included here are some additional views from the rooftop deck of the present building and the former recording studio building last pictured by Google in 2008.

02/18/2025

I am excited to report that thanks to the support of and my employer , I will be joining at the 4th Preserving the Recent Past conference in Boston next month where we will be giving a presentation on our Capitol Hill Modern survey. The conference program is also packed with a variety of other intriguing presentations, discussions, and walking tours that I can't wait to participate in and learn from. For those who are curious, links to the conference program and the Capitol Hill Modern survey materials including reports, photos, and resource table are in my bio.

02/09/2025

New addition to my website: an expanded story on Capitol Hill's former Congo Room and the building that housed it and has since been demolished for the Capitol Hill light rail station. I originally wrote this one on the fly in 2016 ahead of the station's grand opening that year. Link in my bio.

10/06/2024

Ever wondered how Roy Street got its name? I think I finally figured it out. Tl:dr, the answer is Roy Kinnear (1881–1959). If you already knew, sorry I live under a rock. If not, keep reading if you want to learn how I arrived at this conclusion.

Ever since I wrote about The Roycroft Apartments, its namesake Edward B. Roy (1870–1929), and his family’s lumber company Roy & Roy (link in comments below) nearly 10 years ago, every few years someone comes out of the woodwork and pokes the now proverbial hibernating bear of Roy Street by asking me if I know how the street got its name. **Scrambles around, check’s ’s website again, spends 30 minutes doing some cursory, inconclusive research, reports back what little is already known, goes back to sleep.**

Aside from Ed Roy’s descendants’ speculation that it was named after him and his family, I had never found any definitive confirmation until last night (thanks for asking and sorry to steal your wind !). I started by revisiting my Roycroft story. Ed’s brother Charles (1868–1940) was the first to arrive in Seattle in 1888 at the age of 20. Coincidentally, 1888 is the earliest year Roy Street is mentioned in local newspapers. Assuming that even meant Roy Street was named that year, it seems unlikely Charles would have developed the wealth, fame, or clout to get a street named after him or to name a street after himself by filing his own plat.

So, I started looking at old maps. I couldn’t find a Roy Street in 1884, but it definitely shows up on maps from 1888 onward. That year, I noticed it shows up only in Lower Queen Anne. So, I looked at plat maps there. Turns out it’s the Supplemental Plat of George Kinnear’s Addition. Filed in 1884, and dedicated in 1886. Years before Charles Roy arrived in Seattle. So it could not have been named for Roy family, but if not for them, then for whom?

&Roy

04/16/2024

Don’t miss my next walking tour and photowalk with photographer (link to tickets in my bio). On this tour you will learn the why and how of citizen architectural photography while also learning about the history and design of remodeled (and some original) apartment buildings by Architect Benjamin F. McAdoo Jr. and other Architects.

As Washington State’s first licensed Black Architect, McAdoo depended a great deal on remodel work during his early career. In some instances, these largely overlooked projects provided opportunities to cross racial boundaries and form lasting relationships in pursuit of the mutual goal of more affordable and integrated housing. Learn more about this and other fascinating stories on the tour.

Also, be sure to bring your smartphone or a camera of your choice if you wish to practice your technique.

09/26/2023

Tonight at ~6pm I have the honor of presenting the Landmark Nomination for the McAdoo House in Bothell, WA alongside my esteemed colleague Penelope Cottrell-Crawford . Link to the board meeting agenda with the full report and info on how to access the virtual board meeting is in my bio.

Benjamin F McAdoo Jr was the first registered black architect in Washington state in 1946. Learn more about him, his illustrious career, his family, and their exceptional home in the report and the presentation.

08/27/2023

Easy Sunday morning reading for an architectural historian or anyone interested in the history of their home can be found in this week's "At Home In The Pacific Northwest" too which I offer a pro-tip and in which I learned something new.

The article states in a quote that "there isn't a single document that gives you the ownership history" to which I offer my pro-tip: Seattle Dept. of Construction and Inspections Microfilm Library has a "property abstract" that does just that. Although it can be barely legible and/or incomplete at times--especially prior to 1910 or so, and thus intimidating, but you get used to it after a while.

Now on to what I learned. There's a reverse address lookup for the U.S. Census??? TAKE MY MONEY. I can't wait to try it out. 😀🤓

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Seattle, WA
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http://tgheuser.co/

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