17424 95th Avenue Northeast
Bothell, WA, USA

National Register of Historic Places - William Harper Thorton House

Statement of Significant:

The House was built in 1922. The house is an excellent example of the residential architecture identified in Bothell's and the State's Multiple Resources Property Documentations and meets the registration requirements for residential property-types outlined in those documents. While Bothell is filled with many types of bungalows from this same era, a building boom in the 1920s as suburbanization took off in the area, the Thornton House is the only example of the "aero plane" version of the bungalow style known to exist in Bothell. This uniqueness and the house's interior and exterior integrity of craftsman detail make the Thornton House stand out among Bothell's bungalows. It is among the best and most representative of this style of housing remaining in Bothell today.

The original owner, William Harper Thornton, was one of Bothell's first commuters to the City of Seattle. Mr. Thornton owned The French Market in Seattle's Pike Street Markets. He also maintained a gentleman's farm in Bothell with his pear orchard, chickens, and a horse kept on property across 95th Avenue from his home. The house was sold by Mr. Thornton to Mr. Tom Sather in 1929. Mr. Sather had worked for Mr. Thornton at the market for over 10 years and, at the time of the sale, Mr. Sather was running Mr. Thornton's business as Mr. Thornton's health was declining.