| Historic Name: |
Williamson Residence |
Common Name: |
17 Johnson Residence |
| Style: |
Tudor |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1930 |
| |
| Significance |
|
|
This one-and-half story residence is a good and intact example of the Tudor Revival style. Built in 1930, it is associated with 1930s-era development in the Montlake area. It retains its original character and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owners, in 1938, were Adolph A. Williamson, Secretary-Treasurer at All-Metal Valve & Faucet Sales Company, and his wife, Laura. Harry I. Ashcanase, a manager at Block's Shoe Stores, & his wife Ada were the owners in 1948. An accountant, Arnold H. & Gloria Sadick owned it 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
Smith, Eugene. Montlake: An Urban Eden, A History of the Montlake Community in Seattle. La Grande OR: Oak Street Press, 2004.
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| This one-and-half story Tudor Revival has an L-shaped plan and multiple rooflines. It has a gable-front-and-wing form with clipped side-gable, nested gables projecting from the north end of the east façade and a hipped roof on the rear, west elevation. Cladding is brick with stucco and false half-timbering in the gables and dormers. The shallow enclosed entry projects at the el with a hipped roof, arched opening with decorative stucco surround, and wood batten door with grilled light. The window in the front gable bay is fixed sash flanked by 8-light leaded casements and similar casements are in the gable above. A group of 3 similar casements is right of the entry and a hipped dormer above these has similar paired casements. A shallow box bay with hip roof on the south elevation has stucco cladding with false half-timbering and paired 6/1 leaded sash; gable windows are 8/1 leaded sash. The garage below the southwest corner has a shaped parapet with diamond motif and a newer door. A rear entry above the garage is recessed under the eaves with an arched opening. The house sits above the street on a corner lot with rockery and dense landscaping. A significant Atlas cedar anchors the front corner. |
|
|
| Status: |
|
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Shingle, Stucco |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable, Gable, Gable - Clipped, Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture |
| Integrity |
|
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Interior: |
Unknown |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
|
| Major Bibliographic References |
|
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator
|
|
|
