Frederick William Anhalt (March 3, 1896 – July 17, 1996) was a builder and contractor who constructed many distinguished rental apartment buildings in Seattle, Washington in the 1920s and early 1930s. In 1993, the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded Anhalt an honorary membership in recognition of excellence in residential design. In 2001, The Seattle Times listed Anhalt as one of the 150 most influential people in Seattle History His buildings have been referred to as "Castles in Seattle."
Anhalt designed and constructed more than 40 buildings in Seattle between 1925 and 1942. Anhalt's designs reflect Norman, Tudor, and Spanish Mission architectural influences, and incorporate both architectural flourishes and modern construction techniques that were uncommon in mainstream residential architectural projects of the pre-war period. Three of Anhalt's buildings are listed as Seattle Historic Landmarks. Three other Anhalt buildings are part of the Harvard-Belmont Historic District in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Early career
Fred Anhalt moved to Seattle from the midwest in the early 1920s. After working as a grocer and appliance salesman, Anhalt and partner Jerome B. Hardcastle, a former butcher, founded the Western Building & Leasing Company in 1925 in order to build small commercial buildings, primarily markets, in Seattle's outlying neighborhoods such as Ballard, Greenwood, Beacon Hill, West Seattle, and North Queen Anne Hill.
Anhalt's company soon branched out from commercial buildings and began to design and build bungalow-style houses and Bungalow court apartment buildings. Although Western Building & Leasing initially relied primarily on external architects and contractors to construct their buildings, by 1927 Anhalt began to take a more direct role, despite having no formal training as an architect. Anhalt would often work late in his home office, sketching designs for a new project at his drafting table. The next morning, Anhalt would hand the sketches off to Seattle architect Mark Borchert, to his frequent collaborator, architect William Whitely, or to his own draftsmen Edwin Dofson and Bjarne Moe, for further refinement. In 1928, Anhalt bought out Hardcastle and founded Anhalt and Borchert, Designers and Builders, with Borchert.
Anhalt apartments
A growing interest in classic European architectural styles led Anhalt to begin sketching concepts for larger and more sophisticated apartment building designs, incorporating elements drawn from architectural pattern books such as Samuel Skidmore's Tudor Homes of England. Many of these new, multi-story buildings incorporated Tudor and Norman elements, such as turrets, stained-glass windows, and spiral staircases. Others drew on the Spanish Mission style in their use of clay roof tiles and faux-adobe stucco with ceramic inlays.
In contrast with Anhalt's earlier bungalows, which were similar in style to other residential buildings of the period, the multi-story apartment buildings that Anhalt built during the late 1920s and early 1930s possess many custom touches, luxury amenities, and distinctive architectural features. These buildings were designed to provide members of the growing middle class with compelling alternatives to single family homes at a time when many central Seattle neighborhoods were becoming increasingly urbanized.
Most Anhalt apartments, especially those he built in Seattle's Capitol Hill and Queen Anne neighborhoods such as Anhalt Arms (formerly Berkeley Court), feature landscaped interior courtyards. These courtyards, which are shaded and recessed from the street, provide a semi-private, outdoor common space for residents. Unlike many apartments built during the pre-war era, many Anhalt Apartments also possess both a front and a back door. The front door faced inwards, either onto a small alcove or landing shared with one to three other apartments, or directly onto the interior courtyard. These design decisions were intended to foster both a sense of privacy for individual tenants, and a sense of community within the building as a whole.
Despite broad stylistic similarities, Anhalt apartments have been recognized for the degree to which each building is customized to its particular building site. The basic plan—individual living spaces oriented around a common, open courtyard—made it easier to make effective use of the natural light and existing vegetation on the building site. This floor plan also provided flexibility for minimizing street noise and maximizing privacy even in neighborhoods with high urban density.