Community

A look inside 3509 Harborview Drive

When Ted asked me what the Harbor History Museum might have on the house and/or property at 3509 Harborview Drive in Gig Harbor, I took immediate interest. Through the long-time local construction company I worked for, Spadoni Brothers, I have some personal history with that property and the two flanking it.

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In the 1980s, Spadoni Brothers did site preparation and asphalt paving for the Millville Condominiums west of 3509, and a few years later did some kind of work for the condos on the east side. I don’t recall exactly what we did on the east side, but I quite clearly remember doing just a little bulldozing on the street end of the lot that is 3509 Harborview.

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The building contractors had permission to use that area for staging materials or something. I recall working there because I accidentally broke a limb off one of the old apple trees there with a corner of the roof of the bulldozer. The owner of the house at the time, Mrs. Ivanovich, saw it as she walked up from her other house a few lots down the street.

I will simply say that you did not want to get on Mrs. Ivanovich’s bad side. You never forgot it because it haunted you for the rest of your life.

3509 Harborview Drive.

Returning to the present day

In a totally unexpected series of events last week, I ended up going inside the house at 3509 Harborview. Taking a break from the always-cold Collections room at the Harbor History Museum, I went for a brisk walk in the early afternoon, just to warm up. I was walking along Harborview Drive, saw the place and decided to get a closer look. I went into the side driveway to the condos next door and looked from there. I didn’t step into the yard.

When I was about to leave, one of the owners, Kris Yetter, came out and we got to talking.

Kris showed me around the property, and pointed out where the east property line is. It runs right through the middle of the house. Because she couldn’t have been more gracious, I asked if I could see the inside of the house, and she said yes.

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While it’s interesting to see the type of construction of such an old structure, and it’s kinda cool looking on the outside, that building needs to be torn down. She says they don’t want to, that the city says they have to, but I say it would be ridiculous to pour money into it to save it. A classic case of a bottomless pit you throw money into. Yeah, fine, it’s over 100 years old, but give it a decent burial already.

Major clues to its history

I spent a lot of time last week trying to determine the real age of the house. I was able to trace the ownership only back to 1902. There’s a gap of 14 years before the trail picks up again in 1888. Pierce County records say it was built in 1900, but records that old are wildly unreliable. From looking at the building, both inside and out, and seeing how it sits on (and partially off) the property, I have a pretty strong suspicion of when it was built and by whom.

But because I can’t prove any of it, I can’t present any of it.

If I can ever figure it out for certain, it will be included in a future Gig Harbor Now and Then column. Until then, I hope Kris and her husband enjoy their new home. It’s going to look very much like the existing one, maintaining the spirit of the architectural style.

Perhaps it’s unfortunate that saving the current one is the very definition of impractical, but that’s the simple reality.