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Hill-Crest (sometimes known as the "Walker-Ames Mansion" or "the 808 House") is the official residence of the president of the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
. As of 2013 it was the single most valuable public university presidential residence in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
History
Built in 1907 by lumber baron Edwin Ames and his wife, the heiress Maud Walker Ames, Hill-Crest was in 1931 bequeathed to the University of Washington, along with most of the rest of the substantial Walker-Ames fortune. The university took possession of the property in 1932 with president Lyle Spencer becoming the mansion's first university occupant. The conditions of the bequest require the president of the university maintain permanent residence in the home and a 2006 request by presidentMark Emmert
Mark Allen Emmert (born December 16, 1952) is the current president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He is the fifth CEO of the NCAA; he was named as the incoming president on April 27, 2010, and assumed his duties on November 1, ...
to maintain a separate residence was rejected by the university's board of regentsdespite a flooded basement and other problems with the propertyas it would have forced the university to sell the house.
In the early 2000s the property underwent an $800,000 renovation, following which a $2 million endowment was established by former football player Jim Houston to guarantee its perpetual upkeep.
University president Michael K. Young
Michael Kent Young (born November 4, 1949) is an American lawyer and academic administrator who served as president of Texas A&M University from 2015 to 2020.
Early life and education
Young was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He ear ...
was married at Hill-Crest in 2011.
Previous presidential residences
The University president's first residence was a wood frame structure located between Fourth Avenue and Fifth Avenue in downtown Seattle. It was occupied from 1861 to 1895. The former New York Pavilion of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was subsequently renovated to serve as the seat of the president, which it continued to do until 1927 when it was converted for use as academic space.
Property
Hill-Crest has 35 rooms, as well as an elevator and apipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
, and sits on overlooking Lake Washington
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle.
It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, ...
. The total interior footprint is ; interiors are decorated in wood paneling, principally Douglas fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
and Honduran mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
. There is a separate carriage house
A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.
In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open f ...
.
Hill-Crest's approximate market value, in 2013, was $8.5 million making it then the single most expensive public university presidential residence in the United States and more valuable than the Washington Governor's Mansion
The Washington Governor's Mansion is the official residence of the governor of Washington. The Georgian-style mansion is located on the grounds of the State Capitol campus in the capital city Olympia. It is on the crest of Capitol Point, with ...
.
The facility is maintained by a full-time, non-residential staff which includes a major domo
A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...
, chef, gardener, and housekeeper.
See also
* List of University of Washington PresidentsReferences
{{University of Washington, state=collapsed University of Washington campus Houses completed in 1907 University president residences Houses in Seattle