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Summary for 2505 20TH AVE / Parcel ID 880590-0595 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Common Name: 05 Hansen Residence
Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1929
 
Significance
This residence is a good and intact example of the Tudor style.  Built in 1929, it is associated with 1920s-era development in the Montlake neighborhood.  It retains a remarkable degree of integrity and is a contributing resource in 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.



 
Appearance
This one-and-a-half story cross gabled, brick clad residence sits atop a bermed site with lawn, wide concrete steps and a walkway leading to a raised entry porch at the north end and a concrete retaining wall dividing the planted area from a paved driveway leading to a single attached garage at the basement level. A second concrete retaining wall running along the south side of the driveway separates the lot from the adjacent lot to the south. Above the painted wood garage door in the gable-front section is a three-part wood frame picture window with a fixed center and flanking diagonal pane leaded casements. A pair of wood frame double-hung windows with divided leaded uppers are located in the gable end. Similar windows are located on the north and south facades, all with brick sills and lintels. The entry is sheltered by a second, lower gable-front projection that features an arched opening leading to a solid wood door and a tall, narrow arched window in the gable end.  A tall brick chimney pierces the eaves on the south facade.

Detail for 2505 20TH AVE / Parcel ID 880590-0595 / Inv # 0

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick 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 2505 20TH AVE / Parcel ID 880590-0595 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Jan 01, 1900

Photo taken Dec 31, 2014

Photo taken Dec 31, 2014
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