Egan House

The Egan House is for sale! Please click here to view the listing.

Historic Seattle’s Role:

Remarkable for its unusual, non-conforming modernist design, the Egan House, designed by architect Robert Reichert in 1958, was acquired by Historic Seattle in 1998 in partnership with the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department. Threatened with demolition on a number of occasions, the Egan House is an outstanding example of modern residential architecture. Historic Seattle undertook interior and exterior rehabilitation of the property in 2003. Historic Seattle owns the building and Seattle Parks and Recreation owns the land. The Egan House was designated a Seattle Landmark in 2010.

Current and Future Uses:

The Egan House’s exterior work included repairs to deteriorated and insect damaged wood, a new roof, paint and support column for the cantilever above the entryway. Interior work included paint, heating system improvements, tile replacement and bathroom and kitchen upgrades. Since September 2003, the house has served as single-family rental maintained by Historic Seattle.

The 1958 building is the youngest in Historic Seattle’s portfolio. When first constructed, the building represented a shift away from traditionalist styles. Its preservation has helped Historic Seattle expand its advocacy and educational programming to support recognition of modern design as a significant part of our architectural heritage.

April 6, 2024 Open House:

On Saturday, April 6, Historic Seattle hosted an Open House for our community to see the Egan House, without furniture, prior to its listing on the private market. To view the fantastic informational panels we had displayed in the house, please click here.

Historic Seattle Property Life Cycle:

The Egan House is an example of the real estate life cycle of a Historic Seattle property. As a preservation development authority, Historic Seattle develops real estate to save meaningful places. We often engage in advocacy and pursue real estate development concurrently. After acquiring a historic property, we renovate the building following best practices in rehabilitation standards. We engage with the community to find good uses that benefit the local neighborhood and the city, providing affordable rents to tenants. We derive rental income from the property which then contributes to maintenance and operations. We protect all our historic properties through our own stewardship, landmark designation, and preservation easements. We often own our properties for decades. We sometimes sell a property and reinvest the income into the continuing stewardship of our other properties or use the funds to acquire another historic property that needs saving.

Photo: 1958 view of the Egan House / University of Washington Libraries Special Collections