| Historic Name: |
Marshall Residence |
Common Name: |
26 Decker Residence |
| Style: |
Tudor |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1928 |
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| Significance |
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Constructed in 1928, this house is an intact example of the Tudor Revival style, and is a contributing resource to the Montlake Historic District. This is one of the 27 brick homes erected in Montlake, between Boyer Avenue and 18th Avenue East, and McGraw and Lynn Streets. R. T. Brackett and M. M. Kelliher were the builders, under supervision of Robert R. Hemmingsen. Albert H. Geiser was the architect, and D.D. Kirk of the Varsity Decorating Company served as consulting decorator. The homes were erected between 1928 and 1930, and all were unique variations of the Tudor Revival style. The earliest known owners of this house were Richard S. & Virginia Marshall in 1938; he was a clerk at Stetson-Ross Machine Co. In the 1940s through the 1950s, the home was owned by Sylvia P. Wirkkala, a teacher.
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 one-and-a-half story house sits on a poured concrete foundation, is clad with brick and stucco veneer with half-timbering detail, and has a steeply pitched cross-gabled roof with exposed vergeboards. The first story of the front façade is clad with both running bond brick veneer on the primary bay and coursed stucco veneer on the gable wing. Half-timbering detail surrounds the slightly recessed entry, which approached by two concrete steps, and is sheltered by an extension of the the overhanging gable roof. The rectangular front door is solid wood, with a distinctive round stained glass window. Windows on the first story include a triple-grouping of metal casement windows on the primary bay, and a pair of metal casement windows on the gable wall. The second story has a stucco-clad gabled dormer with a six-light steel sash window, as well as a stucco-clad oriel with three narrow diamond-paned leaded glass windows. A capped end-wall brick chimney is on the south façade. |
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