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Summary for 2205 25TH AVE / Parcel ID 871210-0055 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Fullerton Residence Common Name: 39 Wells Residence
Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1922
 
Significance
This house is a good and intact example of the Craftsman style. Built in 1922, it is associated with the 1920s developmental era in the Montlake neighborhood. It retains strong integrity and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. Lois M. Fullerton, a stenographer at the City Building Department, was the first known owner in 1928. The home was owned by Oscar & Rae Lindstedt in 1938. The owner in the 1940s was William T. Champion, a Boeing engineer. In 1958, it was vacant.

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), 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

Smith, Eugene. Montlake: An Urban Eden, A History of the Montlake Community in Seattle. La Grande OR: Oak Street Press, 2004.



 
Appearance
This 1 ½ story Craftsman bungalow has a rectangular plan, cross-gable roof form, and clapboard siding with shingles in the gable end. The roof has wide barge boards and knee braces. It has a full width porch supported by short battered columns atop tall painted brick corner piers. The wide concrete porch steps at the north end of the facade have stepped brick sidewalls and the porch is enclosed by a square wood balustrade. To the south of the wood door is a 3-part wood frame picture window with a tulip-motif leaded transom.  A 4-part leaded window is located in the gable end. Windows on the north and south are typically double-hung wood. A brick chimney pierces the eaves on the south facade and behind the chimney is a gabled hanging box bay with a 3-part picture window similar to the one on the front facade. The site is flat with lawn, a few foundation shrubs and a 2-track driveway on the south side leading to a detached garage to the rear. 

Detail for 2205 25TH AVE / Parcel ID 871210-0055 / Inv # 0

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Interior: Unknown
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Major Bibliographic References
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator

Photo collection for 2205 25TH AVE / Parcel ID 871210-0055 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Jan 31, 2015

Photo taken Jan 01, 1900
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