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Summary for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464

Historic Name: Hare-Allen Residence Common Name: 31 Allen Residence
Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1921
 
Significance
This residence has been altered with a second story addition and a new entry and porch, so it is not a contributing resource to the Montlake Historic District.  The first owner was Ethel Hayes in 1921; from at least 1928 through 1938 it was owned by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Arthur M. Hare and his wife, Ethel. Frederic W. Hile, an assistant professor at UW, and his wife, Barbara owned the house in 1948.
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 shingle-clad house has stacked clipped side gable roofs with returns and hipped dormers on each side of the steep roof slope of the main façade; a skylight is centered on the slope above these.  A large open wood porch with balustrade projects from the center of the façade and the recessed entry has a panel door flanked by divided sidelights. Two groups of three 12-light casement windows flank the entry. Small vinyl sash windows are in the dormers. It sits on a lot with low rockery, shrubs, lawn and a hedge on the west side. The driveway on the east leads to a shared garage.

Detail for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable, Gable, Gable - Clipped 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: Moderate
Changes to Interior: Unknown
Changes to Original Cladding: Slight
Other: Extensive
Changes to Windows: Slight
Major Bibliographic References
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator

Photo collection for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464


Photo taken Jan 31, 2015
App v2.0.1.0