| Historic Name: |
Reif Residence |
Common Name: |
01 Torrance Residence |
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1916 |
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| Significance |
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Built in 1916, this Craftsman-style residence, located in the Montlake Park Addition, is associated with early development in the Montlake area. Despite a rear addition, it retains its basic character and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owners of this house were Frank W. & Mary Relf, in 1928; he was an agent for NY Life Insurance Co. Tory H. & Frieda Lea owned the home in the 1930s and 1940s. The home was owned by Frank (Honeywell Regulator) & Barbara Dorsey in 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), 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.
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| Appearance |
| This one-and-a-half story gable front residence has an irregular plan and a full width recessed porch with concrete steps, painted brick sidewalls and piers, square porch posts at the corners and a reverse battered post to the east of the steps. The front door has a four-light window and is flanked by fifteen-over-one double hung wood sash windows. The house has wide barge boards, knee braces at the eaves and clapboard siding. Double hung wood windows are typical on the east and west facades. Two cupolas with small rectangular windows are at the ridgeline. A painted brick chimney pierces the eaves on the east façade. A newer four-over-one double-hung wood window flanked by smaller square casements is located in the gable end. In the rear is a two-story side-gable addition in the rear. The site is flat, with a wide aggregate walkway, mature shrubs and trees and a driveway on the east side. |
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