Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 205 W Lee ST W / Parcel ID 173180-0850 / Inv #

Historic Name: Montrose Court Apartments Common Name: Montrose Court Apartments Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Queen Anne Built By: Year Built: 1927   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). This is a very good example of a Tudor Revival style apartment court, a popular building type in the 1920s. The building is highly detailed and largely intact, except that the original diamond-paned casement windows on the two front bays have been replaced. This building's architect was William Whiteley, designer of many apartments for Frederick Anhalt, one of Seattle’s best-known apartment developers of this period. Anhalt was not involved in this project, although it was owned and developed by Jerome Hardcastle, Jr., Anhalt's partner in the Western Building & Leasing Company at this time. This is in the Tudor Revival style that was often used by the firm; it shows much of the distinctive sense of style of the firm's other buildings, although it is less detailed than later examples. Anhalt bought out Hardcastle's interest in the firm in 1928, the year after this project was built.   Appearance This U-shaped apartment building is arranged around a landscaped center courtyard. Cladding is clinker brick, with stucco half-timbering and heavily-textured stucco on the foundation. The front (north) elevation has a half-timbered gabled bay with two windows. Each of the eight units has an individual entry with either an arched enclosed porch or a hipped roof. The north and east elevations have shallow gabled bays with diamond-paned windows and scalloped bargeboards. Windows are primarily eight-light leaded casements and eight-over-one double-hung sash. A row of eight brick garages is along the east side on Second Avenue West; the wall above the garages has extensive decorative brickwork.

Detail for 205 W Lee ST W / Parcel ID 173180-0850 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick - Clinker, Stucco Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle Building Type: Domestic - Multiple Family Plan: U-Shape Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Major Bibliographic References City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records. King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. Kreisman, Lawrence. Apartments by Anhalt. Seattle: Kreisman Exhibit Design, 1978.

Photo collection for 205 W Lee ST W / Parcel ID 173180-0850 / Inv #

Photo taken Dec 27, 2004 Photo taken Feb 19, 2003