University District, Seattle, Washington

The University District (commonly, the U District) is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because the main campus of the University of Washington (UW) is located there. The UW moved in two years after the area was annexed to Seattle, while much of the area was still clear cut forest or stump farmland. The district of neighborhoods grew with the university to become a microcosm of urban American cities.Dorpat]

Historical

Like all Seattle districts, the boundaries of the University District are informal; by common usage, the University District is bounded on the west by Interstate 5; on the east by 25th Avenue NE; on the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and on the north by NE Ravenna Boulevard. It also includes, east of these boundaries, a small district on the north shore of Union Bay, bounded on the north by NE 45th Street and on the east by 35th Avenue NE. This extension consists mainly of the "east campus" and extensive parking lots of the University. [cite web
last =
first =
date =n.d., map.jpg13 June 2002
year =
month =
url =http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1120S.htm
title ="University District"
work =Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas
publisher =Office of the Seattle City Clerk
accessdate =2006-04-21] Its main commercial street, University Way NE, is known throughout the city as "The Ave" in the "U District".

Some parts of the University District have had names of their own. For example, today "University Heights" mainly designates a former school used as a community center; a 1905 map shows the name as applying specifically to the area bounded by what are now NE 45th Street to the south, NE 55th Street to the north, Brooklyn Avenue NE to the west, and 15th Avenue NE to the east. ["Baist's Real Estate Atlas Surveys of Seattle, Wash. 1905", G. Wm. Baist, Philadelphia, 1905, plates 17 & 18.]

What is now the University District has been inhabited since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 B.C.E.—10,000 years ago). Prominent Native American Duwamish villages of the Lushootseed (Skagit-Nisqually) Coast Salish nations were on a then-larger Portage Bay at what is now called Brooklyn Avenue, and the other on a larger Union Bay, near the present UW power plant (which is across from the UW IMA building), around the north shores a mile farther than today, and shores east of what is now the Union Bay Natural Area. (See also adjacent Ravenna neighborhood.) The Duwamish, [Also spelled "Dkh^w'Duw'Absh", pronounced [dxʷ-dɐwʔabʃ] .] ("People of the Inside") tribe had the prominent village of "SWAH-tsoo-gweel" ("portage") on then-adjacent Union Bay, and what is now Ravenna was their backyard before the arrival of European settlers. [Dailey, 26, ref. 2, 8] Villages were diffuse. In spring, people dispersed from their winter villages of longhouses to camps, gathering in summer for salmon. Gaps in the forest were maintained to encourage game and food supplies. Such "prairies" (anthrogenic grasslands) were cultivated in what is now the University District. [Similar remarks could be made about Belltown, South Lake Union, along the shores of Lake Washington (the present day route of Sand Point Way NE), and most likely Alki, Georgetown, and other locations in what is now Seattle. Sources: Anderson & Green; Dorpat; [http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/hna17.html "Southern Coast Salish Territories" map] in University of Washington Digital Collection. See also Duwamish (tribe) Lushootseed Coast Salish] They were connected by a well-travelled path along what is now the Lake Washington Ship Canal (1883, 1916).

Surveyors noted several large Douglas-firs and western red cedars (given that large trees were not unusual back then, these must have been especially large). The U. District was first surveyed in 1855, and its first white settlers arrived 12 years later. In 1890, that part of the neighborhood due west of the present UW campus was laid out as the Brooklyn Addition. One year later much of the land north of the Ship Canal, including Brooklyn, was annexed to Seattle. The UW moved from Downtown in 1893, and the first university building was built in 1895.

An 1894 report describes a train wreck just west of the current University District. Latona has now been cut off from the University by Interstate 5.

August 20, 1894. Wreck on [the] Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern just west of Latone [now Latona Avenue] . Freight train from Gilman [now Snoqualmie] hit a cow. [Trainload was a] [m] ixer freight train, 10 co [a] l cars, logs and box cars. Train had slowed down at Brooklyn [Avenue] for cows. Engineer saw cows on a bank beyond Latona looking (?) one another [!] . One cow was tossed over [the] bank and hit the track just as [the] engine came by. [The] [e] ngine was raised off the track [,] and when it came down [the] wheels went off the rails. Engineer reversed but [it] was too late. [The] [c] oal tender shot ahead [,] tearing part of [the engine] car [(cab)] off and decapitating [the] fireman and killing [the] brakeman. Engineer and coal passer [were] [" [illegible] "&msdash;likely "The engineer and coal passer were unhurt." Relatively.] unhurt. Steam and dust enveloped the derailed cars. Engineer ran to Fremont to telegraph to stop [the] evening passenger train [;] also [illegible] Engineer claimed train going 20 miles per hr. [(1) The mentioned streets at that time were rural, more tracks or plat lines than avenues. The run to Fremont Station was more than a mile (about 2 km). A small freight depot remains today at the foot of Stone Way N. Railroading before labor rights and worker safety was appallingly dangerous.
(2) cite web
last =Photographer unknown
first =
coauthors =
date =20 August 1894
year =Train wreck in University District, August 20, 1894
month =
url =http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/viewer.exe?CISOROOT=/seattle&CISOPTR=1636&CISOMODE=thumb
title ="Train wreck in University District, August 20, 1894"
work =
publisher =University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division.
accessdate =2006-07-21Quoted text is from the verso of the original paper print, verbatim but for grammar in square brackets.]

The name "Brooklyn" began to fade soon thereafter. Electric trolley tracks had been laid up Columbus Avenue (later 14th Avenue) in 1892, and the neighborhood soon began to be called "University Station" after the heated waiting house at the corner of what is now NE 42nd Street (1895). The name Brooklyn is not lost, however, for Brooklyn Avenue NE runs parallel to University Way, one block west. North and west of the campus, within the University District, the University Heights—a name now little used—was named for its elementary school (1903–c.1988; since 1990 the University Heights Center for the Community, host for numerous activities small and large. [Long; Eskenazi. Neighborhoods within some districts in Seattle are more or less no longer in common usage. See also Seattle neighborhoods#Public library branches, public schools, and public parks and .]

But for the trolley, in early decades of the U. District Downtown was a trek, a boat, and a horsecart ride away. Given these early transportation difficulties, the U. District was largely self-sufficient, with area businesses for people with ties to the University. Construction of family homes increased in the early 1900s, as did churches, theaters, stores, and a YMCA. The district's first bank and the first local public library opened in 1906, the modest library organized by local merchants. [Burrows]

As a result of a contest held by the University Commercial Club in 1919, 14th Avenue (by then already known as "The Avenue" or "The Ave") was renamed University Way, and the neighborhood was renamed the University District (1919). The neighborhood's north-south arterials are (from west to east) Roosevelt Way NE (southbound)), 11th Avenue NE (northbound), Brooklyn Avenue NE, University Way NE, and 15th Avenue NE. NE Pacific, 45th, and part of 50th streets are principal east-west arterials, NE Campus Parkway is a minor east-west arterial, running only west of the campus. [cite web
last =
first =
date =
year =2005
month =
url=http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps.htm
title ="Street Classification Maps"
work =
publisher =Seattle Department of Transportation
accessdate =2006-04-21
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/plan.pdf High-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 16.1 MB
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/planweb.pdf Medium-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 1.45 MB 12 January 2004.
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/planwebsmall.pdf Low-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 825 KB 12 January 2004.
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/arterialslegend.pdf "Planned Arterials Map Legend Definitions"] , PDF format. 12 January 2004.
The high resolution version is good for printing, 11 x 17. The low and medium resolution versions are good for quicker online vewing. [Source: [http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps.htm#pdfnote "Street Classification Maps, Note on Accessing These PDF Files"] ] ]

Contemporary

The U District is characterized by the indigenous annual May U District Street Fair] [http://udistrictstreetfair.org/] , first of its kind in 1971, [cite web
last =
first =
date =
year =2006
month =
url =http://udistrictstreetfair.org/
title ="U District Street Fair"
work =
publisher = [http://www.udistrictchamber.org/ Greater University Chamber of Commerce]
accessdate =2006-04-21] started by local merchant and dedicated peace activist Andy Shiga in 1970, [Crowley (revised 2004 and 9 May 2001, Essay 1126)] and the University District Farmers Market [http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/market/university/index.shtml] , Seattle's first (1993) and largest local farmers-only neighborhood market. [ The U- District Farmers Market is Seattle's only Farmers Market that is open year-round (aside from Pike Place Market).cite web
last =
first =
date =
year =2006
month =
url =http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/market/university/index.shtml
title ="University District Farmers Market"
work =
publisher =Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance
accessdate =2006-04-21] Andy Shiga (1919-1993) of Shiga's Imports and local attorney Calmar McCune (1911-1996) long supported development of the alternative character of the U District. [Crowley (19 March 2001)] The ASUW Experimental College [http://depts.washington.edu/asuwxpcl] , founded in the college culture of 1968 by a group of UW students seeking education in areas not found in the traditional university environment, is now the largest nonprofit student-run program of its kind. Open to all, it has contributed to the cultural ambience of the U District ever since. [cite web
last =
first =
date =
year =2002
month =
url =http://depts.washington.edu/asuwxpcl/about.php
title ="About the Experimental College"
work =
publisher =ASUW Experimental College (Associated Students of the University of Washington)
accessdate =2006-04-21] The Blue Moon Tavern has become an unofficial cultural landmark, since 1934. [Crowley (1 April 1999)] Big Time is Seattle's original brewpub (1988). [Samson] Six theatres (including the Neptune built in 1921, [cite web
last =
first =
date =n.d.
year =
month =
url =http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/Seattle/NeptuneTheatre.htm
title ="Neptune Theatre"
work =
publisher =Landmark Theatres
accessdate =2006-04-21] the Varsity since 1940; [cite web
last =
first =
date =n.d.
year =
month =
url =http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/Seattle/VarsityTheatre.htm
title ="Varsity Theatre"
work =
publisher =Seattle Parks and Recreation
accessdate =2006-04-21] the Grand Illusion Cinema (founded in a former dental lab in 1968 by Randy Finley, [Doug Merlino, [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7275 Finley, Randy (b. 1942)] , HistoryLink, March 22, 2005. Accessed 1 December 2006.] now owned and run by dedicated volunteers); [Moe] and the (locally-owned) Scarecrow Video, the largest video store on the West Coast [D'Oh Inc.] further characterize the neighborhood. The U District is second only to Capitol Hill as an epicenter for NoCat [http://nocat.net/] Free Wi-Fi with the global Seattle Wireless [http://www.seattlewireless.net/FrontPage] project.

The neighborhood's skyline landmarks (other than the UW campus) are its tallest buildings: UW Tower (formerly Safeco Plaza) and the Meany Hotel (which became the Best Western University Tower and is now known as Hotel Deca). The former, originally headquarters of Safeco Corporation, is located at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue NE and NE 45th Street. It was built in 1973, and at 22 stories high is the city's tallest building outside Downtown. The latter is Art Deco (1931, restored). The architect Robert Reamer gave every room a corner window. [University District Arts and Heritage Committee (Part 2 of 2, North Side)] A jewel of the neighborhood is the formal Neo-classical Carnegie Library (1910) on Roosevelt Way at 50th Street. [Burrows]

In recent decades, the University District has suffered commercial decline, due at least in significant part to the more competitive planning, capital investment, and popularity of the University Village shopping center east of the campus, and Northgate Mall about 1-1/2 miles (2-1/2 km) north beside I-5. From 2002 to 2004, the city and the neighborhood have made some steps countering this trend by giving the Ave a repaving facelift including the addition of benches, bus bulbs, and period lighting. [Marmor; Dorpat; Kim] The addition of benches represented the reversal of a decades-long neighborhood trend away from providing free places to sit.

Starting in 2016, the district will be serviced by an extension of Link Light Rail called the University Link. [ [http://www.soundtransit.org/x1698.xml University Link] . Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.] The light rail line will connect the U District with Capitol Hill, Downtown Seattle, Rainier Valley, and Sea-Tac airport. There are currently plans for one station located on Montlake Boulevard in front of Husky Stadium and another on Brooklyn. [ [http://www.soundtransit.org/x3312.xml Stadium Station] . Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.]

The local year-round and seasonal homeless population, referred to as "Ave Rats", is well-known around Seattle. (See The Ave.)

Due to the size of the UW Greek system, fraternity and sorority members make up a sizeable portion of the local cafes' and bars' clientele, especially such establishments as Earl's and Fourno's,Fact|date=February 2007 though well outnumbered by the Seattle campus student body of more than 39,250. [3,600 instructional faculty, 27,600 faculty and staff, 39,251 student enrollment on Seattle campus (Autumn 2005), 26,444 extension enrollment (non-graded programs). cite web
last =
first =
date =2005-04-18
year =
month =
url =http://www.washington.edu/newsroom/profile/quickfacts.html
title ="Quick Facts"
work =UW Home > UWIN > About the UW > UW Profile
publisher =University of Washington
accessdate =2006-04-21] Other bars have a wider base of patrons, including the College Inn (built for the Alaska-Yukon Exposition in 1909) [University District Arts and Heritage Committee (Part 1 of 2, South Side)] and the Irish Emigrant. The University District is home to all of the UW's fraternity and sorority houses, most of them clustered along 17th Avenue NE between NE 45th and 50th Streets ("Frat Row" or "Greek Row"). On Thursday (when many Greek parties are held to deter high-schoolers) and Friday nights, it is not uncommon for parties to spill out into the local streets within the area. This reputation draws many crashers, and most of the recent instances of gun violence, injury, and property damage at UW student parties have been due to party crashers getting ejected, in the context of readily available alcohol (and recreational drugs) at large student parties.Fact|date=February 2007 [see ]

See also

*The Ave
*Museum Without Walls
* College town

Notes

References

*
See heading, "Note about limitations of these data".
*
and cite news |first = |last =Ibid. |author = | coauthors = |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/seattle_history/articles/story1_p2.html |title ='The settlers saw trees, endless trees. The natives saw the spaces between the trees.' |work =Seattle History: 150 Years: Seattle By and By |publisher =The Seattle Times |pages = |page =p. 2 |date = | accessdate =2006-04-21
*
*
Burrows referenced "Report on Designation” for Landmark Status of the University Library, issued by Karen Gordon [City of Seattle] , January 2002.
The following newsclippings, numbered in the scrapbooks as given, are from the Seattle Public Library Archives:
"University District Herald", April 18, 1941, p. 1 (UN7);
Ibid., April 11, 1941 (UN8);
Ibid., August 14, 1934 (UN9);
Press Release from Nancy L. Wright, Community Relations, Seattle Public Library to Mary Bratton at the "University District Herald", Submitted June 16, 1980 (UN13);
Photocopied original program from the opening ceremony August 5, 1910 (UN15);
Robert E. Iams, “History of University Branch As Part of Community Analysis,” November 15, 1979 (UN16);
"University District Herald" August 1, 1946 (UN20);
Robert E. Iams, “University Branch Library History” "Flash" Vol. 23, No. 2 (October 1964)(UN27);
Seattle Public Library Annual Report 1906-1907 16th ed. (UN28);
Seattle Public Library Annual Report 1910-1911 20th ed. (UN30);
Photocopied clipping of unknown publication, (probably "University District Herald"), October 28, 1921 (UN32);
Editorial, "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", March 7, 1937;
University Library Quarterly Reports, December 1918, October-December 1920, April-June 1921, July-September 1923, October-December 1925, April-June 1932, July-September 1932, and April-December 1933, Seattle Public Library Archives;
University Library Yearly Reports, 1938, 1942, 1944, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1968, 1971, 1972 Seattle Public Library Archives;
Press Release June 25, 1980 from Barbara Erling in the University Branch Library History file, at the University Branch Library;
Alyssa Burrows interview with Michael Delury, University Branch Librarian 1998-Present on December 4, 2002;
Carrie Tuckwood, University Librarian to Alyssa Burrows, December 2002.
*
*
* cite news | first =Hector |last =Castro | author = | coauthors = | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/259316_gangarrests13ww.html?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=80 | title =Gang arrests made: Members sold drugs and threatened UW students, feds say | work =
publisher =Seattle Post-Intelligencer | pages = | page = | date =2006-02-13 | accessdate =2006-04-21
*
*
*
Ctowley referenced Walt Crowley, "Forever Blue Moon, The Story of Seattle's Most (In)Famous Tavern". Seattle: Blue Moon, 1992.
*
Crowley referenced Cal McCune, "From Romance to Riot: A Seattle Memoir". Seattle: Cal McCune, 1996;
Walt Crowley, "Rites of Passage, A Memoir of the Sixties in Seattle". Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995; author's archives.
*
Crowley referenced "Rites of Passage: A Memoir of the Sixties in Seattle". Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995;
Paul Dorpat and Walt Crowley, "The Ave: From Streetcars to Street Fairs" (unpublished mss., prepared for University District Chamber of Commerce, 1994).
*
Page links to [http://coastsalishmap.org/Village_Descriptions_Duwamish-Seattle.htm Village Descriptions Duwamish-Seattle section] .
Dailey referenced "Puget Sound Geography" by T. T. Waterman. Washington DC: National Anthropological Archives, mss. [n.d.] [ref. 2] ;
"Duwamish "et al." vs. United States of America, F-275". Washington DC: US Court of Claims, 1927. [ref. 5] ;
"Indian Lake Washington" by David Buerge in the "Seattle Weekly", 1-7 August 1984 [ref. 8] ;
"Seattle Before Seattle" by David Buerge in the "Seattle Weekly", 17-23 December 1980. [ref. 9] ;
"The Puyallup-Nisqually" by Marian W. Smith. New York: Columbia University Press, 1940. [ref. 10] .
Recommended start is [http://coastsalishmap.org/start_page.htm "Coast Salish Villages of Puget Sound"]
*
*
Dorpat referenced "Seattle: Now and Then Vols. 1, 2, and 3". Seattle: Tartu Publications, 1984, 1988);
Walt Crowley and Paul Dorpat, "The Ave: Streetcars to Street Fairs", typescript dated 1995 in possession of Walt Crowley and Paul Dorpat, Seattle, Washington;
Walt Crowley, "Rites of Passage". Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995;
Cal McCune, "From Romance to Riot: A Seattle Memoir". Seattle: Cal McCune, 1996;
Roy Nielsen, "UniverCity: The City Within City: The Story of the University District" Seattle: University Lions Foundation, ca. 1986;
Clark Humphrey, "Loser: the Real Seattle Music Story". Portland, OR: Feral House, 1995.
*
*
*
John Moe interview with Guerren Marter, Grand Illusion Cinema manager.
*
*
*
*
*
Alumni magazine.
*
*
"Seattle Wireless: One of the first community wireless networks, and probably one of the largest."
*
*
*
Previously retrieved 15 November 2005.
Links to [http://www.bigtimebrewery.com/ "Seattle's Original Brewpub"] . Selection from cite book | last=Samson | first=Karl | authorlink= | coauthors= | editor= | year=2006 | title =Frommer's Seattle 2006 | accessdate= | chapter= | pages= | publisher=Wiley | location= | id=ISBN 0-7645-9587-3 | pages= | chapter=
[Title incremented annually each January] .
*
[http://www.washington.edu/community/cmp_site/Documents.html Master Plan Seattle Campus Final EIS] of [http://www.washington.edu/community/cmp_site/final_cmp.html Campus Master Plan]
*
Sources for this atlas and the neighborhood names used in it include a 1980 neighborhood map produced by the Department of Community Development (relocated to the [http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/neighborhoods/resources.htm Department of Neighborhoods] and other agencies), Seattle Public Library indexes, a 1984-1986 Neighborhood Profiles feature series in the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", numerous parks, land use and transportation planning studies, and records in the [http://www.cityofseattle.net/CityArchives/ Seattle Municipal Archives] .
[Maps "NN-1120S", "NN-1130S", "NN-1140S".jpg[sic] dated 13 June 2002; "NN-1030S", "NN-1040S".jpgdated 17 June 2002.]
*
"Maps" is part of [http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/index.html "American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection"] , at Libraries Home > Subject > History > Tm > Pacific Northwest History.
*
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/plan.pdf High-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 16.1 MB
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/planweb.pdf Medium-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 1.45 MB 12 January 2004.
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/planwebsmall.pdf Low-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 825 KB 12 January 2004.
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/arterialslegend.pdf "Planned Arterials Map Legend Definitions"] , PDF format. 12 January 2004.
The high resolution version is good for printing, 11 x 17. The low and medium resolution versions are good for quicker online vewing. [Source: [http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps.htm#pdfnote "Street Classification Maps, Note on Accessing These PDF Files"] ]
*
*
*
* cite web | last =University District Arts and Heritage Committee | first = | date =2001-08-14 | year = | month = | url=http://www.cityofseattle.net/arts/workshop/u-district_north.pdf | title ="Public Art & Culture Walking Tour Map, Part 2 of 2, North Side" | format = PDF
work = | publisher =City of Seattle Arts | accessdate =2006-04-21
*
*
(2) UW Publication Services & UW Facility Services (Revised July 1996)
(3) University of Washington Publication Services (Revised September 1991)
* cite book | last=University of Washington Publication Services | first= | authorlink= | coauthors= | editor= | year=Revised September 1991 | title=The University of Washington Campus & Vicinity | format=map | accessdate= | publisher=University of Washington
location=Seattle | id= | pages= | chapter=
Compiled, designed, drafted in cooperation between Physical Plant and the Department of Geography, August 1971, revised Sherman (August 1991).
*

External links

* [http://www.udistrictchamber.org/ University Chamber of Commerce website]
* [http://www.uvillage.com/ University Village website]
* [http://www.U-District.com/ U-District.com]