| Historic Name: |
Wilmot Residence |
Common Name: |
46 Downing Residence |
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1908 |
| |
| Significance |
|
|
This Craftsman-style residence was built in 1909 and is associated with the earliest developmental era in the Montlake neighborhood. It remains well intact and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. From as early as 1928 through at least the 1950s, the home was owned by James M. & Janie Wilmot. Mr. Wilmot was an Assistant Manager for Puget Sound Power & Light Co.
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 1 1/2-story clapboard-clad Craftsman-style residence sits in the center of a double lot. It has a rectangular plan, side gable roof with exposed rafters and knee braces, a prominent hipped roof shingle-clad dormer and a hipped roof over the full length porch. The porch roof is supported by square posts atop a low shingled balustrade. A storm-covered wood door with flanking shutters is at the north end and a wide picture window with flanking shutters is at the south end. Paired double-hung wood windows are in the dormer and this window style is typical on non-primary facades and bays, some with divided lights. A gabled 1-story projecting bay is located on the north facade and a hipped hanging box bay is on the south facade. The large site is gently sloping with lawn, foundation shrubs and mature trees. A concrete walkway leads to the concrete porch stairs with concrete sidewalls. |
|
|
