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Summary for 2520 25TH AVE / Parcel ID 026000-0004 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Common Name: 09 Rasey-Jackson Residence
Style: Ranch Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1946
 
Significance
This is one of several houses, located in the Arenberg Addition, constructed immediately after WW II on this block, reflecting not only the transistional changes in architectural style that occurred after World War II, but also the effects of the G.I. Bill benefits through FHA and/or educational benefits causing a surge in enrollment at the UW.

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

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

 
Appearance
This one-story house sits on a mid-block lot with lawn and foundation shrubs. It has a rectangular plan and multiple rooflines with shallow eaves; the main body is a shallow side-gable roof; a shallow hipped roof projects slightly from the north half of the main façade, sheltering the entry porch, and a front-gable garage projects from northwest corner. The recessed entry at the el has a shallow low concrete porch, paired corner post supports, and an original wood panel door with a storm door. Cladding is Roman brick with clapboard in the gables. Large grouped  windows flanking  the door have tall vertical fixed wood sash; windows on side elevations are paired and single 1/1 sash. A wide brick chimney is on the roof ridge.

Detail for 2520 25TH AVE / Parcel ID 026000-0004 / Inv # 0

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick - Roman Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable, Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one
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 2520 25TH AVE / Parcel ID 026000-0004 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Dec 31, 2014
App v2.0.1.0