| Historic Name: |
Watkins Residence |
Common Name: |
11 Douglas Residence |
| Style: |
Italian - Italian Renaissance |
Neighborhood: |
Montlake |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1926 |
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| Significance |
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This two-story residence shows the influence of the Beaux Arts Italian Renaissance Revival style and appears highly intact. Built in 1926, it is associated with 1920s-era the development in Montlake area and is a contributing resource to the Montlake NRHP Historic District. The earliest known owner was William Watkins, a naval architect, in 1938. William V. Ralkowski owned it in 1940; his family owned several bakeries and restaurants. In 1948, Louis Shapiro (Maid-Well Apparel Co.) and his wife, Helen, owned the house. The owners in 1958 were Robert C. Ellis, Sales Manager at King County Medical Services, and his wife Marion.
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 brick-clad house is rectangular in plan and has a shallow hipped roof with modillions in the eaves and corner quoins. The entry on the left has a brick half round stoop leading to a shallow arched opening with cast stone detailing that matches the quoins. The door is an original arched coffered wood door. Small stained glass windows with a flower motif flank the entry portal. Fenestration on the façade is asymmetrically arranged and includes paired leaded light French doors with a metal balconette above the entry, similar tall paired French casement windows flanked by narrow vertical lights on the first floor at the east end and similar windows above that are flanked by hung sash of leaded divided lights, all set in wide wood surrounds. All visible windows on the other elevations are similar hung sash with leaded lights. A brick chimney is at the center of the roof. The lot is relatively flat with lawn and a deciduous tree near the entry. The driveway on the north side leads to a newer 2 car garage. |
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