| Historic Name: |
Howe Residence |
Common Name: |
50 Monks-Lavin Residence |
| Style: |
Tudor |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1927 |
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| Significance |
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This residence has been altered by the construction of an hexagonal tower, replacing an original dormer, and the addition of a door, windows and a deck on the remaining large dormer. It lacks integrity of design and materials; it is not a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The house was owned by George B. and Helen Howe from 1928 through the 1950s.
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:
King County Tax Assessor Records, 1937-2014.
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
Polk directories of Seattle, 1938-1958.
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 1-1/2 story Tudor Revival house sits well below Interlaken Boulevard on a lot with numerous trees. The front faces south to the Interlaken hillside. Cladding is rustic wood shakes. The house has a side gable roof with a large projecting gabled wing on the west end and two gable dormers to the east. Between these two dormers is a very wide exterior brick chimney. At the east end is a tower with an hexagonal roof (this replaced a dormer at an unknown date) and a narrow leaded glass window. The dormers have 12-light casement windows. Across the front is a concrete patio covered by a flat roof with paired support posts; the first floor doors and windows are not visible. The gable at the west end has been altered with a second-story deck and a glazed door with sidelights replacing a single window. The first floor below this has three pairs of French doors with large arched transoms. The rear elevation, facing Boyer Avenue, has two large gabled dormers with a shed dormer between them. The first level has a garage in the center flanked by large arched windows. |
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