| Historic Name: |
Aamod Residence |
Common Name: |
16 Johnson Residence |
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Colonial |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1922 |
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| Significance |
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This residence is a generally intact example of a modest Colonial Revival Bungalow with some influence of the Craftsman style. Built in 1922, it is associated with the 1920s-era development in Montlake area and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owners of this house were Edward J. Aamod, a salesman, and his wife, Agnes, in 1938.The home was owned by Edward E. Balfe, an assistant supervisor, with the Liquor Control Board, and his wife, Ella, from 1948 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), 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.
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| Appearance |
| This one-and-half story house sits slightly above the street on a lot with low rockery and lawn. It has clapboard-cladding, a rectangular plan, side-gable roof with shallow eaves and returns and a symmetrical façade. The concrete porch extends across the full front and has a central gabled portico with an arched roof wide soffits and dentils support by square posts; square posts on the porch corners support arbors extending from both sides and a wood balustrade encloses the porch. The door is original wood frame with a single patterned light flanked by narrow sidelights with the same pattern. Paired cottage sash with the same pattern in the upper sash flank the entry and a shed roof dormer above has three similar patterned lights. The east elevation has a similar group of three piano windows. Other windows are similar original sash. The garage below the east end has a newer door. |
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