| Historic Name: |
Nowell Residence |
Common Name: |
39 Lindblad Residence |
| Style: |
Colonial - Colonial Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1920 |
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| Significance |
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This residence has been altered with an added dormer and it is not a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owners, in 1928, were Frank H. Nowell, a commercial photographer, and his wife, Elizabeth. They owned the house through the 1930s. It was owned by Byron E. & Eleanor Browne in 1948; he was a salesman for Reliance Insurance Co. Vincent E. Foster, a probation officer at County Juvenile Court, owned the home in the 1950s with his wife, Irene. Nowell (1864-1950) was one of the Northwest's most prominent photographers. He extensively documented turn-of-the-century Alaska and its native peoples. He later moved to Seattle, where he was official photographer for the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in 1909. He opened a studio downtown, completing various assignments such as documenting the construction of the Smith Tower. Many of his photographs are in the collection of the University of Washington Libraries.
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 clapboard-clad cottage sits close to the street with a lawn and a pathway lined with a low hedge. It has a gable front with a nested gable above the entry on the south side; both gables have clipped ends and returns. The porch has wood stairs and balustrade and two square posts supporting the roof. It has been extended (uncovered) north to the corner of the house. The first floor has an original three-part window with a divided-light transom and a wide surrounds. The gable end has a pair of one-over-one windows. The north elevation has a brick chimney and a large square bay extending up through the eaves; it has a clipped gable roof with returns. On the south elevation, a very large shed-roof dormer on the south elevation has signficantly altered the character of the house. |
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