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Summary for 2027 23RD AVE / Parcel ID 8722100290 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Common Name: 37 Baker residence
Style: Colonial - Dutch Colonial Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1921
 
Significance
This residence is a good and intact example of the Dutch Colonial Revival 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 Dolph G. Lewis, a manager at General Importing Company, and his wife, Zedina.

From 1938 through 1948, the home was owned by a physician, Clifford & Constance Senecal.The home was owned by another physician in 1958, John B. & Elizabeth Riley.

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.



 
Appearance
This two-story clapboard-clad Dutch Colonial Revival residence sits above the street with rockery, shrubs, small trees and a hedge on the south side. The house has a side-gambrel roof with shallow boxed eaves and returns and is oriented sideways facing south. Full-width shed dormers are on the north and south facades. The entry on the south is not visible. Windows include single and paired 8/1 hung wood sash on the first story and in the gable wall with divided light casement sash in the dormers. A prominent stucco chimney is centered on the east gable wall.

Detail for 2027 23RD AVE / Parcel ID 8722100290 / Inv # 0

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

Photo collection for 2027 23RD AVE / Parcel ID 8722100290 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Jan 31, 2015

Photo taken Dec 31, 2014
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