| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
Nickles Residence |
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1910 |
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| Significance |
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This is one of the oldest houses in the area, built in 1910, but it has been greatly altered and is not a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The clinker brick cladding on the first story remains, but the original large gabled porch has been completely removed and the gabled bays and roof with deep eaves and brackets have been replaced with a modern side gable roof with shallow eaves. The windows also have vinyl sash in a different configuration than the originals.
Montlake is generally described as extending from the Washington Park Arboretum west to Portage Bay/15th Avenue E., and from the Montlake Cut on the north to Interlaken Park. The area is a significant and cohesive collection of residential architecture typical of early 20th century Seattle and is eligible as a NRHP historic district under Criterion C. Construction occurred primarily between 1910 and 1940, with a variety of Craftsman and revival styles ranging from modest cottages and builder's houses to high-style architect-designed residences, impressive institutional buildings, and notable parks and natural features. There are few intrusions of newer buildings. In the early 1960s, construction of SR 520 and the unfinished R.H. Thomson Expressway bisected Montlake, but the neighborhood retains its basic integrity as a pre-World War II Seattle neighborhood.
Montlake was incorporated into the City of Seattle in 1891. Although the first plats (Union City 1st and 2nd additions) were filed by Harvey Pike in 1869-1871, development did not really begin until plats were filed by John Boyer (Interlaken, 1905) and H. S. Turner (1907). Montlake Park (north of SR 520) was platted in 1909 by the developers James Corner and Calvin and William Hagan. With the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition came a streetcar line on 24th Avenue E. and an impetus for development. In 1916, the Lake Washington Ship Canal was completed and the Montlake Bridge linked the neighborhood to the university area in 1925. A small commercial district grew along the car line.
The 1903 Olmsted Parks and Boulevards Plan of 1903 surrounded Montlake with parks. Montlake Boulevard (then call University Boulevard) connected Lake Washington Boulevard to the A-Y-P grounds. Washington Park, the eastern boundary, was acquired by the City in 1900 and developed as an arboretum in 1936-41. At the southern edge is steep, forested Interlaken Park and boulevard.
By 1915, the neighborhood had developed enough to require a temporary school building; the permanent structure opened in 1924.Soon afterwards came a playfield and shelter house (1933-36) and a library (1944, replaced 2006). Other noteworthy structures include the Seattle Yacht Club (1920), the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Center (1931), the Museum of History and Industry (1952) and St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church (1962).
Major Bibliographic References:
Becker, Paula. Seattle Neighborhoods: Montlake--Thumbnail History. HistoryLink File # 10170, accessed 12/2/2013.
Gould, James W. Montlake History. http://www.scn.org/neighbors/montlake/mcc_history.Jim_Gould.html
Smith, Eugene. Montlake: An Urban Eden, A History of the Montlake Community in Seattle. La Grande OR: Oak Street Press, 2004.
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| Appearance |
| This two-story side-gable house sits on a corner lot above the street, with a lawn above a low wall of older concrete block. The second story overhangs slightly, supported by extended beams. The first story is clad in clinker brick, with clapboard on the second story. The foundation is older concrete block. The entry is on the front, near the northwest corner, and has a shallow hipped roof, a concrete stoop and stairs, and 1950s-style decorative metal posts and railings. The east end of the main facade has two three-part windows, one on each story, with a large center pane flanked by narrow one-over-one windows. Two similar three-part windows are on the first story on the west facade, which has a square bay extending to the rear elevation. Other windows have one-over-one sash, except on the basement level, which has sliders set into what were originally arched openings. All the sash are vinyl with the original wood surrounds. The rear (south) elevation has an exterior clinker brick chimney and a small shed roof addition. The rear yard is fenced, with a detached garage accessed from 22nd Avenue E. |
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