Fabulous Fifties

Welcome to Bellevue’s Hilltop Neighborhood

Name Dropping At Hilltop, there are houses designed by the area’s best-known architects and landscape architects, including: •  Perry B. Johanson of architectural firm NBBJ (Seattle First National Bank building) •  John “Jack” Morse (Lake City Branch, Seattle Public Library) •  Fred Bassetti (Seattle Aquarium) •  Paul Hayden Kirk (Magnolia Branch, Seattle Public Library) •  Wendell Lovett (Villa Simonyi) •  Lionel Pries, Tucker & Shields (Brown House in Bellevue, Denman House in Bellevue) •  John Van Horne & Edward Cushman •  Lee McRae •  Rich Haag (Gas Works Park, Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island) •  Glen Hunt, Robert Chittock and the San Francisco firm of Eckbo, Royston and Dean

Phil and Vicky Oxley call their Bellevue home an “island paradise in a sea of suburbia.” The mid-century modern, four-bedroom and three-bathroom, one-story house with a walk-out basement is cocooned by greenery and virtually invisible from the street. Built in 1957, the house hugs the land instead of towering over it. Full-size picture windows offer unobstructed views of Mount Rainier and the surrounding woods. Doors that open to a courtyard upstairs, a backyard downstairs or patios all around offer immediate opportunities for fresh air and light. “Whenever you walk in, you feel good. It’s bright, airy and spacious. It’s always bright in here, all year long,” said Vicky Oxley.

The family’s favorite place to read, relax and entertain is the grand room. The south-facing, ceiling-to-floor glass wall makes the Japanese maple, magnolia and fir trees outside and the whistling birds inhabiting them seem close enough to touch. On the grand room’s north side, a Japanese garden courtyard punctuated by freestanding boulders offers another blissful scene. Inside, white walls, natural wood interiors and clean lines complete the open-air atmosphere.

“(The grand room) is the most dramatic room. We have a fireplace so in the winter, it is a great place to be,” said Phil Oxley.

By 2003, the Oxleys, both wireless industry veterans living on Vashon Island, had fallen in love with 1950s furniture and wanted to move into a matching mid-century house near good schools for their son, Nic. Surprise, surprise, they found and fell in love with an entire neighborhood from the “Fabulous Fifties” called Hilltop.

In 1948, a band of families united to design and build their dream neighborhood, a 63-acre site at an elevation of about 1,000 feet. From the start, the community has been governed by mutual respect and collaboration. The plan was to create a holistic, harmonious community, and the architecture illustrates this vision. The founders decided the houses would be contemporary, functional and comfortable and approved by committee. The founders mapped 40 one-acre lots surrounded by a greenbelt to preserve views, greenery and privacy. The neighbors built and maintain roughly 13 acres of common land, including the greenbelt, nature trails, a swimming pool, a tennis court, picnic tables and a playground.

Traditions, written covenants and active committees keep this neighborhood as close, friendly and hard-working as ever. The Oxleys loved joining a community where neighbors take the annual work parties as seriously as the summer picnics, salmon bakes, weekly walking group, Easter egg hunts and Christmas parties. There’s even a printed annual with photos. Today, Vicky Oxley is the security committee chairwoman, and Phil Oxley is the playground committee chairman. The couple hosted the annual community Christmas party last year, which meant welcoming at least 60 neighbors and past residents into their home. “It is more satisfying to pitch in and do it yourself than paying people to do it,” said Phil Oxley. “There is a tradition and a rhythm to all of these things and events.”

The drawback to living here is that there are no city amenities within walking distance: no coffee shops, restaurants, retail shops or theaters. You have to drive or do without.  “We tend to eat in a lot,” said Vicky Oxley.

No wonder the biggest home upgrade is culinary. Assisted by Charles Anderson Architects and Bellan Construction, the Oxley family completely remodeled the kitchen from September 2006 to January 2007. The old kitchen was dark and cluttered by cabinets, closets and a hallway. The plan: remove everything and start over. In the new kitchen, teak cabinets with black Paperstone countertops and appliances, including a Sub-Zero fridge, a Miele dishwasher and double ovens, are pushed to the far walls to maximize space. A few more projects are in the works, like adding a front deck, but nothing critical. The family is content with the house as is.

“It’s beautiful. Why would you want to leave? There are a few more remodeling projects, but even if we didn’t, we would be comfortable,” said Vicky Oxley.

hilltop: a community that works, plays, stays together

Painter Enid Smith Becker, her husband, Bart, and their daughter, Elena, live in a family heirloom and work of art. Working with architects John Van Horne and Edward Cushman, Enid’s parents, Charles and Meribah “Hepsie” Smith designed and built the 2,200-square-foot house in Hilltop in 1950. Enid and her two brothers, Owen and Evan, grew up here and now a third generation, Elena, calls it home.

“Architecture is a piece of sculpture that we live in. And this house is a design that my father lived in,” said Enid Smith Becker.

The Smith Becker house is in good company. Hilltop’s founding members, mostly artists, architects, builders, engineers and University of Washington faculty, pioneered the cooperative community in 1948 to value modern architecture, natural beauty and democracy. Enid’s father, Charles Smith, taught industrial design and sculpture for many years at the University of Washington. To start, the founders bought 63 acres from the George Farmers family for $15,000.

“The architecture here, it doesn’t impose itself on the land. The houses are often tucked in. They are low, and they flow with the land,” said Becker. “It is a real pleasure to be in a house that flows. … You become pleased with them because they are well-designed, because people made them to be a good place to live in, not to dominate the landscape on which the house is placed.”

Drawn to the lifestyle and architecture, several notable professionals live or have lived on Hilltop, including architects Fred Bassetti, John “Jack” Morse and Wendell Lovett, artists Mary Bassetti, Charles “Chuck” Smith and Kathleen Morris, as well as historians, biologists and authors — among others.

Enid Smith Becker is a painter, too. Her work, “Evening Harmony,” is seen here, hanging next to the fireplace.

The early years were “a flurry of building, community picnics and even a bucket brigade when a little fire broke out,” according to Meribah Smith. Every family brought a wheelbarrow to the common area and leveled and cleared the ground for the playfield. “Back then, we did everything ourselves,” said Smith.

Some of Enid’s favorite memories are still occurring: playing at the pool, picking wild berries, sharing fresh baked pies and enjoying food, games and conversation with neighbors. She said, “We think it builds community to work together. There’s a sense of watching out for each other."

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