Location: 2804 Orange St.
mid-Century modern; Diversity: Racial covenants
Fox House, 1946, Thurston County Assessor, Washington State Archives |
Fox House today (2013), Photo by Deb Ross |
Frederick Schmidt and his brother Frank, who were part of the Olympia Brewing Company family, platted Stratford Place during World War II. They built several homes in the subdivision out of concrete block, including Frederick’s own home, the Frederick W. Schmidt House. This home, the Fox House, was located diagonally across the street, at the edge of what is now Watershed Park. It was built in 1945. According to historians, concrete block was used because of the difficulty of obtaining wood during the war. Several unique features were used to reduce moisture as well as insulate the homes. The first resident here, Robert Fox, worked for Neuffer Jeweler’s.
Stratford Place was also one of at least three area subdivisions that had racial exclusion covenants, now outlawed but still carried on some deeds. See Olympia Time article by Emmett O’Connell.
mid-Century modern context statement
Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross