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Summary for 2311 24TH AVE / Parcel ID 6788201460 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Common Name: 31 Johnson's Antiques
Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1925
 
Significance
This mixed-use commercial building has been altered with new cladding, and windows sash and storefront alterations. It is not a contributing resource to the Montlake Historic District.  This building was occupied by Kefauver Bros Grocery from 1928 through 1948. Montlake Hardware occupied the buidling 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 flat roof mixed-use commercial building has altered storefronts, new cladding and window sash. Cladding includes stucco on the second story and a mix of stucco, varied wood paneling and tile at the bulkhead on the lower level. The façade has two bays on each side with a single entry to apartments above in the middle. An awning extends across the full three-part storefront on the north side; the central recessed storefront entry is flanked by two-part windows with a canted part leading into the recessed entry. The storefront on the south end has recessed entry of paired plain doors flanked by large flat horizontal windows with paneled bulkhead below. The second story has a hanging three-part canted bay window with replacement sash on each end and two vinyl sash sliders toward the center.

Detail for 2311 24TH AVE / Parcel ID 6788201460 / Inv # 0

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Stucco, Wood Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Unknown
Building Type: Commercial/Trade - Business 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: Extensive
Other: Moderate
Changes to Windows: Extensive
Major Bibliographic References
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator

Photo collection for 2311 24TH AVE / Parcel ID 6788201460 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Jan 31, 2015
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