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Summary for 2060 23RD AVE / Parcel ID 8722100155 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Common Name: 38 Farrokhi Residence
Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1928
 
Significance
This residence has had changes to the main façade that alter the original appearance, including the addition of a front gable to the north end, removal of a window, and replacement of a picture window with a bay window. It is not a contributing resource to the Montlake Historic District.  From 1928 through 1938, the owners of this house were Walter Robson, President, Walter Robson Inc., and his wife, Vera.The home was owned by Ross A Sweet, a zone manager at General Motors Truck & Coach, and his ife, Alta owned this house in 1948.The home was owned by Paul C. & Phyllis Wood 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.



 
Appearance
This two-story Tudor style residence has a flat front yard hardscaped with slate and brick pavers and gravel with a few shrubs. The house has a cross-gable roof with a large gable on the south end and smaller gable on the north end of the façade. Cladding is brick with stucco and false timber in the gables. The entry north of the center has a gabled vestibule with arched opening, slate and brick stoop, and arched wood door with arched light in the upper half. A three-part canted hanging bay with metal roof is on the gable wall and four 1/1 wood sash windows are on the second story. A brick chimney is on the north gable wall and another projects from the south gable slope.

Detail for 2060 23RD AVE / Parcel ID 8722100155 / Inv # 0

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

Photo collection for 2060 23RD AVE / Parcel ID 8722100155 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Dec 31, 2014
App v2.0.1.0