This home on the 4700 block of Beach Drive is set to be demolished early next week to make way for a new single unit dwelling.
We actually sold the home to the current owner knowing it would be torn down. The home has been added on over the years and has some issues that are beyond reasonable repair. While in our ownership, the home was a short-term rental that we named “Beach Drive Bungalow” that enjoyed hosting people from West Seattle to all over the world.
The home was originally built in 1926 and looks completely different from the home it is today. As the story goes, the home was built by a sea captain to live in while building the neighboring home to the north. 
The home continued to be modified over the years. 
We enjoyed the few years we were able to share the home as a vacation rental with others. If not for the Seattle City Council no longer allowing waterfront homes to be short term rentals (as a way to help affordable housing?) we would probably still have the home as a vacation rental. The home held family reunions, birthday celebrations and even a beautiful wedding ceremony at the bulkhead.
Thanks for the memories, Beach Drive Bungalow!
I’m saddened to hear the news about the home at 4717 Beach Drive being torn down. My Grandparents owned and lived there for many years. Willard and Elda Hillary. Upon their passing my mother lived in the house and made many improvements. My brother’s wedding was in the back yard. Myself and my brothers spent many hours sitting on the bulkhead fishing and enjoying the amazing view. The house was well loved.
Hello Elda,
I really wish we could have kept the home as a vacation rental and place for our family to stay. We checked into getting the foundation lifted and it was too risky for the home. When we bought it, the home had been vacant for several years and was not in good shape. We made as much improvements as we could without doing a complete remodel/reconstruction of the home.
We have a lot of wonderful memories in the short few years we owned the home including birthday celebrations and family reunions. Our adult kids loved staying there when they come to visit. It is sad to see the home gone. There’s a lot of homes being torn down on Beach Drive (and everywhere in Seattle)… we are losing a lot of history.