1125 Harvard Avenue East

Site History

Horace Chapin (H. C.) Henry (1844-1928) was a prominent railroad builder, financier, and philanthropist. He was known for, among other things, constructing the Northern Pacific Railroad around Lake Washington, the Great Northern through the Cascade Mountains, and 450 miles of Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul. Henry and his wife Susan Elizabeth Johnson arrived in Seattle in 1890. In 1901, the couple built a grand Elizabethan mansion at today’s 1125 Harvard Avenue E., and with it, an impressive gallery for Henry’s art collection, which was opened to the public on weekends. Henry donated the collection, and $100,000 for the new Henry Art Gallery, to the University of Washington in 1926, and died in 1928. The gallery, along with the property’s extensively landscaped grounds, would serve as the Seattle Art Institute until a new museum was built at Volunteer Park in the 1930s. During that same time, Henry’s sons donated the house and grounds to the City of Seattle as the site for a public library. Since the City did not want a library at this location, the City demolished the original Henry house and sold the property to the Bloedel family who lived next door. In 1935, Mr. Bloedel sold the property to Stimson Bullitt. 

Stimson Bullitt (1919-2009) was an attorney, real estate developer, and the son of A. Scott Bullitt and media pioneer, Dorothy Stimson Bullitt. The parcel was not developed until Bullitt divorced and married his second wife, Katherine (Kay) Muller. The couple had local architect Fred Bassetti design a modern A-frame house for their growing family. The landscape architecture firm, Eckbo, Royston, and Williams, designed the large yard, with an elaborate staircase to Boylston Avenue. The modern house, contrasting with the older and grander homes on Capitol Hill, was completed in 1955 and included polycarbonate skylights along the ridgeline, canted windows to let in the light, and an open floor plan anchored by a massive stone fireplace. Over the years, Kay was known for inviting the community into her garden for Wednesday night picnics and hosted many day camps for children from all walks of life. In 1972, Stimson and Kay Bullitt generously gave the 1.6-acre property to the City of Seattle for a future park, and it was designated a life estate. 

Although the Bullitts would later divorce, Kay Bullitt remained at 1125 Harvard Ave E until her death in August 2021, after which, the house and grounds passed to Seattle Parks and Recreation. 

Toward the end of Kay’s life, she and her daughters invited Plant Amnesty, a nonprofit group dedicated to proper vegetation pruning, to help maintain areas on the property. Plant Amnesty has been working on the property designing small garden spaces. 

Plant Amnesty became an official ‘Friends of Group’ with SPR for the care and maintenance of plant areas within the new park site. If you are interested in joining a volunteer work party or finding out more information, please go to SPR’s Volunteer website at: https://www.seattle.gov/parks/volunteer   

Community Participation

Public Meeting #3 - 1/17/24

Thank you to everyone who has provided input on this project and joined us at our third public meeting on January 17, 2024. In case you were unable to attend or would like more information on the project, please view the video presentation below. 

•  Meeting Presentation

Online Meeting - May 2022

• Survey Results and Comments

Public Meeting and Open House - 8/3/2022

• Event Poster
• Event Presentation with May 2022 Online Survey Results
• Event Presentation Boards with Community Comments

Public Design Meeting #2 - 10/15/2022

• Event Poster
• Event Video Presentation
• Event Presentation Boards
• Event Summary Notes