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Albert Balch, Part One: Early Life
This series of articles will outline the life of Albert Balch, the developer who, beginning in 1941, built the Wedgwood houses which gave their name to the neighborhood in northeast Seattle. Balch’s father Albert S. Balch Sr. was from a … Continue reading
Balch and Beyond: New Architecture in Wedgwood
The Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle acquired its name and identity in the 1940s with the work of developer Albert Balch. Balch filed a plat plan on July 31, 1941 for a forty-acre tract of land (five square blocks) on … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Balch, Houses
Tagged Architecture, Neighborhood History, Pacific Northwest Modernism, Seattle, WPLongform
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Balch’s Office Buildings in Wedgwood
In 1940 the Wedgwood neighborhood did not yet exist in northeast Seattle. There were vast tracts of undeveloped land and except for Hansen’s Tavern at NE 85th Street, there were no other businesses at that intersection on 35th Ave NE. … Continue reading
Albert Balch, Part Six: Architecture and Neighborhoods
Albert Balch, developer of Wedgwood, constantly watched trends and looked ahead to anticipate “the next thing” in the building of houses and neighborhoods. Balch saw that in the period following the end of World War Two, people were spreading out … Continue reading
Albert Balch, Part Five: Spreading Wedgwoods Everywhere
In November 1888 two young men, employees of the Post-Intelligencer newspaper in Seattle, quit their jobs and went into real estate. They didn’t have any formal training in such work but their knowledge of the city and their belief in its potential … Continue reading
Albert Balch, Part Four: A New Development in Wedgwood
In the year 1940 Albert Balch was 37 years old and he was at a turning point both personally and professionally. He had been married seven years and his family had expanded to four children. His father and mother had … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Balch
Tagged 1940s in Wedgwood, developer of Wedgwood, Seattle, WPLongform
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Albert Balch, Part Two: Finding a Career in the 1930s
Albert Balch, developer of the View Ridge and Wedgwood neighborhoods of northeast Seattle, did not start out to work in real estate. As many college grads do, at first Balch struggled to find a suitable career. Albert Balch graduated from … Continue reading
Working for Mr. Balch
The developer of the Wedgwood neighborhood, Albert Balch, was born in Gem, Idaho, finished high school in Blaine, Washington, and graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1934 Balch was thirty years old, married and about to become … Continue reading
Houses in Wedgwood: from Craftsman to Balch
All of Wedgwood didn’t come within the Seattle City limits until 1954, and up until that time the neighborhood retained its rural character. Wedgwood was thinly populated and there were many vacant lots whose owners were holding land as an investment. Many … Continue reading
A Farm Life in Wedgwood
Wedgwood didn’t acquire its identity until the 1940s when developer Albert Balch’s name for his housing development caught on as the name for the whole neighborhood. In the early 1900s when the future Wedgwood area was still outside the Seattle city … Continue reading
