Stop a man downtown Seattle in 1897, and you could likely place him in one of two categories: off to seek his fortune in the Yukon, or finding it right here in town.

Perry Polson landed in the latter camp. In 1896, the farmer-turned-businessman moved his family and his farm equipment company from La Conner to Seattle—then a boomtown of about 50,000. A year later, nearly the same number of prospectors flooded the city in need of the very picks and shovels he carried in spades. Polson had struck gold. 

When he saw the view from the property atop Queen Anne—acquired for $5,500 less than a decade after arriving in Queen City—he probably felt he’d done it again. Situated near the end point of the first cable car extension to climb Queen Anne Hill, the site offered a bird’s-eye view of Elliott Bay, the Olympic Mountains, and downtown Seattle—at the time, sans Smith Tower, let alone the Space Needle.

The home Polson built more than lived up to its lofty location. He left the massive concrete foundation to cure for an entire year, according to a 2003 Seattle Times article. Architecture firm Josenhans and Allan (better known for the University of Washington’s Parrington Hall, which sits beside Odegaard Library) designed the home to see and be seen. It has an eye-catching, if typical of the neighborhood, turret and a massive sleeping porch. Craftsman influences stopped the more ornate Queen Anne style just short of palatial.

The Polsons kept the home in the family for nearly a century, passing it down in a rare lineage of residents more or less dedicated to maintaining it in its original form. Before selling the home in 2005, Barbara Polson Kummer bemoaned her mother’s ill-advised 1960s kitchen update: "All of her friends were doing it," she told the Seattle Times. Clearly things have been rectified since then.

Meanwhile, the artist-painted ceilings, an entire powder room, the 1920s intercom system, and what might be the first elevator in a Seattle home remained blessedly untouched.

“One of the best preserved residences in the city,” per the Queen Anne Historical Society, 103 Highland Drive tells no woeful tale of character-busting renovations. The couple who purchased the home in 2011, though not Polsons themselves, took on restoration work with the care befitting a family heirloom.

Mom’s kitchen reno got a tasteful modern revamp. An architectural historian consulted on the exterior paint colors; in the pristine early-1900s powder room, a simple sink reglazing improved function without compromising form. Some elements of the home, lacking a certain charm—namely, the ancient plumbing—had to be ushered into the twenty-first century.

Other changes, like the built-in surround sound and the 1550-bottle, climate-controlled wine cellar, clearly nod toward the inclinations of the home’s modern residents. In a home originally intended to impress, none feel out of place.

Listing Fast Facts
103 Highland Dr, Seattle, WA 98109
Size: 7,840 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms
List Price: $6,950,000
List Date: 3/4/2024
Listing Agent: Amy Sajer, Windermere Real Estate Midtown