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Summary for 2421 E CALHOUN ST E / Parcel ID 6788200-875 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Pregent Residence Common Name: 24 Kolden Residence
Style: Colonial Neighborhood: Montlake
Built By: Year Built: 1923
 
Significance
This is a good and intact example of a house showing Colonial influence. Built in 1923, it is associated with 1920s-era development in the Montlake area and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owners, from at least 1928 through 1938, were Joseph Pregent, a teller, and his wife, Eva. It was owned by Waldemar F. Kirchheimer, a microbiologist, and his wife, Esther in 1948. The owners in 1958 were Isaac Cunningham, a roofer at Maxwell R. Silven, and his wife, Jeanne.

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-story clapboard clad house with Colonial influences has a rectangular plan and a side-gable roof with returns and modillions in the eaves. The entry on the right of the facade is a concrete porch with brick clad stair sidewalls sheltered by an arched hood with doric column supports and a newer wood door with three vertical lights in the upper half and divided sidelights. A front gable bay on the left side of the façade has a short wide stucco chimney piercing the center of its eaves. Windows flanking the chimney are cottage sash with patterned lights in the upper half. Windows in the shallow gabled bay on the west are paired sash of similar pattern. Other windows are similar original wood sash. The house sits above the street on a sloping lot informally landscaped with rocks, shrubs and small trees. A detached garage (2006) is in the northwest corner of the lot.

Detail for 2421 E CALHOUN ST E / Parcel ID 6788200-875 / Inv # 0

Status:
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Interior: Unknown
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Major Bibliographic References
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator

Photo collection for 2421 E CALHOUN ST E / Parcel ID 6788200-875 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Dec 31, 2014

Photo taken Dec 31, 2014
App v2.0.1.0