| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
37 Santos Residence |
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1912 |
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| Significance |
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This residence is a good and intact example of the Craftsman style. It is associated with the 1920s-era development in the Montlake area and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owners of this house, in 1928, were Wilfred Eldred, an associate professor at UW, and his wife, Mary.The home was owned in 1938 by Oscar S. McDowell, a sales supervisor at North Coast Chemical & Soap Works, and his wife, Eugenia. In 1948, the home was owned by Richard L. Merrin of Merrin Sales Company, and his wife, Ursula.
The home was owned by the secretary of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, Henry L. & Neil DeYoung in 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), the Museum of History and Industry (1952) 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
Polk Directory of Seattle, 1938-1958.
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 1-1/2 story shingle-clad Craftsman style bungalow sits on a triangular corner lot bordered by an alley on the east side with low rock wall, lawn, trees and shrubs. It has a shallow front-gable roof with deep eaves, carved brackets and extended rafter tails. A gabled entry portico on the south end of the main façade has river rock corner piers with square posts, concrete porch and a Craftsman style wood door with a single light in the top. A side gable bay projects from the east end of the south elevation and has a side-entry facing west. A shallow concrete patio across the west half of this elevation leads to the entry; it is sheltered by wood arbor with similar pier and post supports; the Craftsman style wood frame door with patterned light has a wood-frame screen door. Two wood sash casements with the same pattern are on the wall facing onto the patio entry. A shallow hipped-roof hanging bay north of the main entry has two paired single light wood casement windows with diamond-light transom. The single window on the north end of the façade has similar paired of casement sash. A group of six small diamond-light wood casement sash windows is in the gable. A brick chimney protrudes from the center of the roof. |
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