| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
27 Welch Residence |
| Style: |
Tudor |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1929 |
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| Significance |
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Constructed in 1929, this Tudor Revival house is an intact example of its style, and contributes to the Montlake Historic District. This is one of the 27 brick homes erected in Montlake, between Boyer Avenue and 18th Avenue East, and McGraw and Lynn Streets. R. T. Brackett and M. M. Kelliher were the builders, under supervision of Robert R. Heinmingsen. Albert H. Geiser was the architect, and D.D. Kirk of the Varsity Decorating Company served as consulting decorator. All homes were erected between 1928 and 1930, and all were of unique design in the Tudor-revival style. The earliest known owners of this house were Donald J. & Maude Cawley in 1938; he was Local Sales Manager, American Can Co. Their ownership continued through 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), 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
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 1.5 story house is irregular in plan, is clad with brick and half-timbered stucco accents, and has a front-facing gabled porch with gabled wing clad with asphalt composition shingles. The front (north) façade is dominated by a nearly full-width covered front porch beneath the front gable. The gable roof is supported by substantial brick corner columns trimmed with wood posts and curved wood braces, and the porch includes a solid brick railing. The stairway to the porch is close the the house on the west end of the porch, and leads to a curved wood front door. The second story of the front gable has a six-light leaded casement window with three-light surrounds, and surrounding wall is clad in half-timbered stucco veneer. To the west of the front gable is the main body of the house with two pairs of eight-light leaded casement windows. Skylights are evident, and there is a large brick chimney behind the front gable peak. |
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