Historic North Slope Fourplex
With Fully Fenced Yard

click to enlarge

315-317 N L Street is listed as a contributing structure in the North Slope Historic District.  Assessor records indicate that the house was built in 1910, but Sanborn maps suggest that the true year of construction may have been as early as 1890.  In 1917, the home at 317 N L Street was purchased by George and Minnie Halliday.  According to the Tacoma Daily Ledger, building permits were issued for the address in April of that year, likely in connection with an expansion of the structure and/or conversion into the fourplex that exists today.  George Halliday died in 1921, and advertisements for the Halliday Apartments appeared in local newspapers as early as September of that year. 

Minnie Halliday continued to own, occupy and manage the apartment building, first on her own and then with her second husband Frank Wintermote, a retired lumberman.  When Frank died in 1940, Minnie moved to Seattle to live with her daughter Lucille.  Minnie Halliday died in 1949.  Given its inclusion on the local and national registers of historic places, the Halliday Apartments may be eligible for significant property tax benefits.

Tacoma’s North Slope is one of Washington State’s largest historic districts, consisting of more than 950 homes. Much of the neighborhood was built on a 166-acre farm owned at one time by Tacoma pioneer Job Carr. The Carr family sold the land for residential development in the 1880s, and the district experienced three distinct building booms from 1888-1893, 1902-1915 and 1919-1929. As a result, the neighborhood features a wide variety of architectural styles including Victorian, Craftsman, Tudor and American Foursquare.

Early North Slope residents of note included Washington State Governor Ernest Lister and a young Bing Crosby. The neighborhood provides easy access to 23-acre Wright Park, an eclectic mix of independently owned shops and restaurants, Stadium Thriftway, the medical center, public and private schools, the waterfront and the soon to be completed light rail extension.