1531 10th Avenue East
Seattle, WA, USA

Pierre P. Ferry House

The Pierre P. Ferry House (1903–1906) is a historic home in Seattle, Washington, United States.

History
The American Craftsman home was designed for attorney Pierre Ferry by Seattle architect John Graham. The art glass windows in the main hall with the elaborate peacock were designed by Tiffany Studios. Orlando Giannini of the Chicago firm Giannini & Hilgart designed the mosaic with its wisteria motif. It is regarded as the finest Arts and Crafts residence in the Pacific Northwest.

The building has status as a Seattle landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Register of Historic Places - Pierre P. Ferry House

Statement of Significance:

The Ferry House on Seattle's Capitol Hill was built for Laurena and Pierre Peyre Ferry, son of Washington State's first governor, Elisha Ferry. The house is an outstanding and essentially unaltered example of Craftsman design, with a superb interior attributed to Louis Comfort Tiffany. John Graham Sr., a locally prominent architect, was responsible for the design of the structure.

The home was built in 1904 upon a 15-acre tract owned by John Leary, one of Seattle's early mayors and an exceptionally successful businessman. Leary's wife was Eliza Ferry, daughter of Elisha and elder sister of Pierre. The Leary's had no children, and it is said that they were drawn to the young wife of Mrs. Leary's brother Pierre. Laurena P. Foy had married Pierre Ferry in 1901 and the couple had resided in the city. In relating the story in later years to friends, Laurena Ferry stated that she had become homesick for a more natural setting and had expressed an innocent appreciation for the beauty of her brother-in-law's undeveloped property on Capitol Hill. John Leary apparently greatly surprised Mrs. Ferry two weeks later by making the initial arrangements for the construction of a house in the woods. The site chosen was known as "Owl Hill" or "Dogwood Hill” and was situated high on a wooded ridge above Lake Union, commanding a splendid view of the Lake, of Queen Anne Hill, and of the Olympic Mountains to the west. It was here that John and Eliza Leary chose to build their own magnificent home (National Register), plans for which were begun at about the same time as those for the adjacent Ferry House.

John Leary hired the architect John Graham Sr. to execute the Ferry House project. A native of Liverpool, England, Graham was trained at King's College on the Isle of Man. His architectural practice began in Seattle in 1900. Graham's contributions to Seattle's architectural character came chiefly in the form of commercial and institutional structures. Among his more distinguished works are Trinity Church, the Bon Marche and Frederick and Nelson Department Stores, and the Dexter Horton Building.

Although he is believed to have worked in close tandem with Tiffany Studios in the design of the Ferry House, Graham is thought to have been equally responsible for its Craftsman influences. Having received his training in England, the architect was no doubt exposed to the Arts and Crafts Movement as it was espoused and practiced by William Morris, Phillip Webb, and Charles Voysey. In character the Ferry House bears many similarities to the work of Charles Voysey. It has all the charm of an English country house, with external use of half-timbering and stuccoes surfaces; informal, picturesque massing with an emphasis on large chimneys and multipaned, casement windows. Internally, the house has a variety of spaces stemming from a central great hall into dining room, living room and library. Combined with these larger rooms are intimate nooks and recesses with distinctive fenestration, a musician's gallery, a handsome stairway, and charming bedrooms much in the manner of Voysey and Morris. Jane Campbell of Sotheby Park Bernet Los Angeles identified more specifically the "Craftsman" influences within the house in an appraisal made in April of 1978: "use of oak-carved panels; use of art pottery tiles in the fireplaces and bathrooms; window seats in the living room; overall simplicity of line and extreme attention to detail." As a superb specimen of the Arts and Craft Movement in America, the Ferry House holds an important place in the evolution of 20th century domestic architecture.