| Historic Name: |
Airheart Residence |
Common Name: |
46 Brice Residence |
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1926 |
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| Significance |
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This Craftsman residence, built in 1926, it is associated with the 1920s developmental era in the Montlake neighborhood. Aside from alterations to the porch to accommodate an ADA ramp and removal of a trellis, the house remains intact and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owner, in 1928, was Ada Airheart, a clerk for Seattle National Bank. After a period of vacancy in the 1930s, the home was owned by J. Staff & Lillian Falk in the 1940s and 1950s; he was a manager at Miller Brokerage 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.
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| Appearance |
| This 1 ½- story Craftsman-style residence has a side-gabled roof with a wide projecting front gabled porch at the south end, a front gabled roof dormer and a gabled hanging box bay on the north facade, all with wide bargeboards and knee braces. It is clad in shingles. The roof over the raised wood porch is supported by square wood posts atop tall brick piers. Wood porch steps have newer square wood railings. The wood door has a pebbled glass window in the upper 1/3. To the south of the entry is a 3-part picture window with a fixed center, double-hung sides and a decorative leaded transom shielded by a fabric awning. A paired casement window with Craftsman-style panes is in the roof dormer. Double-hung and casement windows with Craftsman-style panes are typical on non-primary facades, all with wood sash and wide wood frames. A brick chimney pierces the eaves on the north facade. The site is flat with a metal ADA ramp leading to the raised porch, lawn, foundation shrubs and a parking pad in front of the entry. |
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