Author Archives: Wedgwood in Seattle History

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About Wedgwood in Seattle History

Valarie is a volunteer writer of neighborhood history in Seattle.

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

Posted in Neighborhood features | Tagged , | 6 Comments

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

Posted in Controversies, streets | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in boundaries, research resources, Seattle History | Tagged , | 1 Comment

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

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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

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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

Posted in Houses | Tagged , | 8 Comments

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

Posted in Houses, Immigrant heritage, Plat names | Tagged , | 2 Comments

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

Posted in Houses, Immigrant heritage | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Before There Was a Wedgwood Safeway: From Rural to Urban

The area around the NE 75th Street intersection in Wedgwood never had an organized scheme of development.  As a result, people who came to live there in the 1920s saw startling changes over the years in everything from road grading … Continue reading

Posted in businesses, grocery stores, Immigrant heritage | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Before There Was a Wedgwood Safeway: the Plat of Public Lands

Today’s Wedgwood neighborhood is defined as extending from NE 75th to 95th Streets along the central arterial of 35th Ave NE. These “boundaries” are arbitrary but were suggested by the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods in the 1980s to … Continue reading

Posted in businesses, grocery stores, Neighborhood features, Plat names | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment