| Historic Name: |
Berg Residence |
Common Name: |
17 Zimmerman Residence |
| Style: |
Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1923 |
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| Significance |
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This two story residence has been highly altered from its original bungalow form with a large addition and many alterations that have significantly altered the building's original character, and it is not a contributing resource to the Montlake Historic District. From 1928 through 1958, the house was owned by Gilbert & Olive Berg. Gilbert was an engineer.
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.
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| Appearance |
| This two story contemporary house is a highly altered reconstruction of a former bungalow on the original foundation. It is irregular in plan, has a hipped roof, and is clad in clapboard and vertical composite panels. The wood porch entry on the west-facing elevation has a contemporary craftsman style door sheltered by an arbor. A large two-story vertical window wall is to the right of the entry. A large hanging box bay to the left of the entry supports a second-story balcony with paired wood frame and glass doors. Other windows include paired and grouped divided lights over single pane sashes, some grouped vertically with large fixed transoms. The basement garage is below the northwest corner. The large corner double lot is flat with some low landscaping and lawn and the yard extending to the north side of the lot is enclosed with a low wood rail fence. A small shed-roof two-story contemporary accessory building is on the northeast corner of the lot. |
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