Author Archives: Wedgwood in Seattle History
Van Doren in Washington Territory
When we think of the pioneer white settlers of Washington Territory, we are referring to those who came before statehood in 1889. We assume that these adventurers were young single men out to make their fortune or young families seeking … Continue reading
The Minnie Kraus Plat in Northeast Seattle
Minnie Kraus was a young woman who made a real estate investment in northeast Seattle in 1918, filing a plat which she named after herself. A “plat” is a section of land, any size, for which a map of streets … Continue reading
The Stairways of Wedgwood
The City of Seattle’s geological formation looks as though a glacial hand pressed into the land like cookie dough. There are valleys across Seattle and north-south-running ridges as though the dough oozed up between the fingers of the hand. For … Continue reading
Along the Road: the Evolution of 35th Ave NE
From early years Wedgwood in northeast Seattle was a car-centric neighborhood because of the lack of other transportation options. Streetcar lines never reached Wedgwood, and there was no city bus service because the neighborhood was outside of the Seattle City … Continue reading
Annexed Cities
One of the most common questions I receive on my blog is about the Seattle City Limits and on what date different areas came into the city. Some neighborhoods of Seattle such as Ballard and Ravenna started out as separate … Continue reading
Life and Legacy in Wedgwood in the 1930s: the Hentschell Family
The Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle was never reached by a streetcar system, and the area remained outside of the City Limits until the 1940s-1950s. Up until after the end of World War Two in 1945, the (future) Wedgwood area … Continue reading
Binek’s Electric Bakery, a Beloved Business in Wedgwood in the 1950s
During the World War Two years of the 1940s the population of Seattle swelled with military and with civilian workers. People left other states in the USA to come to Seattle and get jobs in wartime industries such as Boeing … Continue reading
A House of Creativity in Wedgwood
Many artists, writers, and others in creative pursuits have made their home in the Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle. The house at 7756 30th Ave NE was designed and built in 1941 by an artist who drew cartoons and portraits … Continue reading
Immigrants in the Earl J. McLaughlin Plat in Wedgwood
A “plat” is a section of land, any size, for which a plan of streets and lots is laid out. Plats are given a name by the real estate company or developer. Many neighborhood names are derived from plat names, … Continue reading
Immigrants in the Oneida Gardens Plat in Wedgwood
In the 1920s and 1930s the (future) Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle became the home of numbers of immigrants, most especially from Germany, Holland and Sweden. East of 35th Ave NE in what was called the Oneida Gardens blocks, many … Continue reading
