| Historic Name: |
Chamberlain Residence |
Common Name: |
50 Ahmann Residence |
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Tudor |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1919 |
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| Significance |
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This residence is an intact example of a large house that combine two popular styles, the craftsman and Tudor Revival. Built in 1919, it is associated with 1920s-era development in the Montlake area and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. Due to address changes, the ownership history is unclear. Helene Chamberlain, a widow, may have owned it the home in 1938. The owners from 1948 through 1958 may have been Emil & Alpha L'Heureux; he worked as a baker for Perfection Baking Company.
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 3-1/2 story house exhibits both Craftsman and Tudor Revival influences. It is below street level on a large lot at the busy corner of Boyer Avenue E. and 24th Avenue E. The house is framed by tall trees and mature shrubs with a large front lawn sloping down to it. The cross-gable roof has a prominent front gable flanked by lower side gables. A hipped-roof porch with extended rafter tails extends across the eastern two-thirds of the front (south) facade. The porch has concrete steps, square wood posts and clapboard cladding. The paired windows have 1-over-1 wood sash. Other windows have wood sash, most with divided lights, and wide surrounds. The second story has 15-over-1 and 1-over-1 windows, while the third story has horizontal 20-light sash. The front gable on the fourth story projects out to be flush with the eaves; it has extended beams and a narrow 24-light window with a decorative surround. There is a belt course above the second-story windows; cladding below this is clapboard, with shingles above it. The rear elevation has a similar porch and gable end as the main facade, with 15-over-one and 20-light windows on the first story, 20-light windows on the second story and a 48-light sash in the gable end. |
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