McIlvaine Apartments - Tacoma, Washington
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 47° 15.247 W 122° 27.025
10T E 541583 N 5233550
The McIlvaine Apartments were built in Tacoma's Hilltop area in 1909 by local businessman Alvin C. McIlvaine. J.E. Bonnell designed the 3 story building in the Renaissance style.
Waymark Code: WM1A1A
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 03/10/2007
Views: 25
The McIlvaine Apartments were built in Tacoma's Hilltop area in 1909 by local businessman Alvin C. McIlvaine. J.E. Bonnell designed the 3 story building in the Renaissance style. The following text is from tacomaculture.org's document about the historic architecture of the Tacoma Hilltop Neighborhood:
The McIlvaine Apartments are another investment property of a local businessman from the community, Alvin
C. McIlvaine. He arrived in Tacoma from Pennsylvania in about 1893 and succeeded as a brick and plastering
contractor. He acquired a few small pieces of property at various
locations throughout Tacoma after 1898 including this one, purchased
in 1906. It was a valuable parcel, located two blocks north of the cable
line and two blocks east of the burgeoning “K Street” Business
District.
The architect found that the opportunity to work on a more
substantial project thrilled and challenged him; having typically
worked on speculative single family homes. His original plans were
for a three story building with three wings separated by light courts.
McIlvaine, however, opted for a considerably more modest solution
resulting in the single square plan we now see.
The mass of the building is well proportioned, broken up with a concrete base, two brick stories, and topped by a
field of stucco with a bold metal cornice. The corners are articulated by concrete brick quoining while the sides
have three story stamped metal bays that contain generous interior window seats. Built by J.D. Bonnell, details
and materials of the exterior highlight the trades of its developer.