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Summary for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464

Historic Name: Common Name: Rizk-Smith Residence
Style: Colonial, Vernacular Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1924
 
Significance
This residence, built in 1924, is associated with 1920s-era development in the Montlake area and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District.
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.
 
Appearance
This one-story L-shaped house has a front yard with an arbor and numerous tall shrubs, with a driveway along the west side. It has aluminum siding with a concrete block foundation.  It has a gable and wing form, with a pent roof extending across the front facade. The roofs are clad with metal barrel tile in white. The entry is near the center, at the east end of the front gabled section. It has a 15-light door and a stoop with wood steps and no railing; it is sheltered by an arched hood that is part of the pent roof.  East of the entry is a group of five narrow four-over-four windows with leaded glass and wide wood surrounds. West of the entry is a six-over-six leaded glass window with wide surround and shutters; similar windows are on the side elevations.  A gabled garage at the northwest of the lot has a pent roof similar to that on the house.

Detail for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Metal - Aluminum Siding Foundation(s): Concrete - Block
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Metal
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: L-Shape
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Interior: Unknown
Changes to Original Cladding: Slight
Other: Moderate
Changes to Windows: Intact
Major Bibliographic References
King County Tax Assessment Rolls, Washington State Archives.
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator

Photo collection for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464


Photo taken Jan 31, 2014
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