| Historic Name: |
Kessler Residence |
Common Name: |
10 Young Residence |
| Style: |
Colonial - Colonial Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1925 |
| |
| Significance |
|
|
This residence is a good and intact example of the Colonial Revival style. Built in 1925, it is associated with 1920s era development in the Montlake neighborhood. It retains a high degree of integrity and is a contributing resource in the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owner, in 1938, was Ben Kessler, manager of Jerome's Dress Shop. It was owned by Edward J. (Eva) Clark in 1948; he worked for the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The owners in 1958 were Walter and Eva Delfel.
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 two-story-plus-basement residence sits on a slightly raised corner lot that is gently bermed with a rockery, lawn and mature shrubs and trees. A concrete retaining wall separates the raised, planted area from a concrete driveway at grade leading to an attached garage at basement level located at the west end of the south facade. Wide concrete steps at the western most end lead up to a one-story shed roofed addition on the rear and another set of wide concrete near the southeast corner of the site lead up to the front of the house. The house features a cross-gabled form with the long, side gabled portion section facing east and the front gabled section facing west to the rear of the site. It is clad in wide clapboard siding on the basement and first floors and narrower clapboard siding on the third floor. A trim piece separates the first and second floor on all facades. The front facade is symmetrical, with a raised stoop and flush paneled entry door sheltered by a curved projecting porch hood supported by heavy brackets on either side. Wood frame picture windows flank the entry. Single double-hung wood frame windows with divided uppers are located on the second floor above the picture windows. The south facade features a prominent brick chimney, double-hung wood frame windows on the basement, first and second floor levels, the paneled garage door with divided uppers, and a hanging projecting bay above the garage on the first level. Double-hung wood frame windows are typical on the north facade as well. |
|
|
