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Summary for 1955 20TH AVE / Parcel ID 215890-0325 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Common Name: 42 Ashworth Residence
Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1929
 
Significance
This residence, located in the Glenlaken Park plat, is a good and intact example of the Tudor Revival tyle. Built in 1929, it is associated with 1920s-era development in the Montlake area and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owners were Allie G. & Nell Lane in 1938; he was a service representative for Mutual Life Insurance Co.. Their ownership continued through at least 1958.



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.



 
Appearance
This 1.5 story Tudor Revival house is on a midblock lot with extensive plantings and a picket fence.  It has a tall roof with a very wide clipped front gable. The small gabled entry is north of the main gable, with a slightly recessed door with concrete stairs with a metal railing.  Cladding is  shingles with stucco and half timbering in the gable ends. The primary window group is a pair of 8-light leaded casements flanked by two single casement windows.  The second story has a group of three 6-light leaded casements. The north façade also has a large clipped gable with 1/1 windows on the second story.  At the first story on the north elevation a door opens onto a deck formed by the roof of the garage, which is below grade level. the deck is covered with a large arbor. 

Detail for 1955 20TH AVE / Parcel ID 215890-0325 / Inv # 0

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle, Stucco Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle
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
Other: Slight
Changes to Windows: Intact
Major Bibliographic References
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator

Photo collection for 1955 20TH AVE / Parcel ID 215890-0325 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Dec 01, 2014
App v2.0.1.0