| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
03 Matsen Residence |
| Style: |
Colonial - Dutch Colonial |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1919 |
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| Significance |
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This residence, located in the Montlake Park Addition, is a good example of the Dutch Colonial style. Built in 1919, it is associated with the late-19teens, early 1920s developmental era in the Montlake area. Despite later additions to the side and rear of the house, it retains sufficient integrity to convey its original style and significance. It is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District.
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 two-story, Dutch Colonial-style residence sits on a gently bermed corner lot that slopes downward along the western street front. The large lot has lawn, dense mature shrubs and trees. The primary facade faces north. The house features a front gable mansard-style roof with eave returns, shingled roof skirting between the first and second floors, and shed roof wall dormers that run the length of the east and west facades. It is clad in clapboard siding with shingles in the gable ends. Typical windows are two-part wood casements with divided transoms above. On the ground floor of the primary facade is a two-part window in this style and a three-part picture window with a fixed center, flanking casements and divided transoms. Both windows have wood shutters. Above the second floor windows on the main facade is a wood trim piece that runs the length of the facade and turns the corners to run beneath the shed dormer eaves. The entry is located on the east facade and is identified by a gabled porch supported by square columns. A tall, battered brick chimney painted white pierces the eaves on the west facade. To the rear of the chimney is a one-story, flat roof addition with a roof deck and wrought iron balustrade. Behind this addition is an attached garage with a paneled roll-up door at grade and an enclosed sunroof above. Solar panels cover the roof of the garage/sunroom addition. |
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