File:View east on Boyer Avenue, Seattle, March 15, 1913 (MOHAI 13041).jpg

From the earliest settling of what became Seattle's Montlake neighborhood, both Native Americans and whites recognized the importance of the area as a portage route for watercraft, since it was the narrowest portion of unbroken land separating Lake Union and Lake Washington, before the Lake Washington Ship Canal was created in 1916. The idea that a canal would one day link the two lakes seemed obvious to early settlers. Because of this, the nearby land was valuable, and quickly surveyed and purchased. Housing development didn't actually begin until 1905, and it took an additional four years for streetcar service to reach the area. The 23rd Avenue Line was initially constructed to deliver fairgoers from downtown Seattle to the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, though it continued to serve the Montlake area until the demise of the streetcar lines in the 1940s. This image was taken of the Montlake neighborhood at the beginning of housing development. The view is looking east on Boyer Avenue. The bulk of Montlake's housing stock was constructed between 1910 and 1940.

Handwritten on mount: Boyer Ave. Looking East, March 15th 1913 Sticker on verso for L.B. Waters, Commercial Photographer at 417 1-2 First Ave. West, Seattle, Wash. Caption information source: "Seattle Neighborhoods: Montlake--Thumbnail History," by Paula Becker, HistoryLink.org Essay 10170.

• Subjects (LCTGM): Clearing of land--Washington (State)--Seattle; Real estate development--Washington (State)--Seattle