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Summary for 2515 22ND AVE / Parcel ID 880590-0690 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Sparr Residence Common Name: 10 Grant-Kaufman Residence
Style: Colonial - Colonial Revival Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1927
 
Significance
This 1927 residence was a two-story Colonial Revival house that has been extensively remodeled with the addition of a non-compatible third story. It no longer retains its historic character and is not a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owner was Florence D. Sparr, who lived here from at least 1938 through 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.
 
Appearance
This three-story house sits high above the street on a bermed corner site with a rockery, shrubs, and mature trees. It is clad in brick on the first two levels, and clapboard on the third floor addition. Skirting from the original hipped roof at the second floor level is visible with the new, non-compatible addition sprouting from the top. The new roof has a gabled center portion that sticks up above hipped sections with boxed eaves at the four corners.  The raised flush entry is at the south end of the facade and is sheltered by a hipped porch roof with brackets. Windows are newer, vinyl clad, some with divided lights.

Detail for 2515 22ND AVE / Parcel ID 880590-0690 / Inv # 0

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: three
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Extensive
Changes to Interior: Unknown
Changes to Original Cladding: Extensive
Changes to Windows: Extensive
Major Bibliographic References
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator

Photo collection for 2515 22ND AVE / Parcel ID 880590-0690 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Dec 31, 2014

Photo taken Jan 01, 1900
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