Category Archives: Architecture
A Plat of Modernist Architecture in Wedgwood
When World War Two ended in 1945 some American cities experienced an economic slump as wartime production ceased. Seattle continued to prosper in the post-war period because of its industries, including production of airplanes. After World War Two, Boeing Aircraft … Continue reading
A Plat of Traditional Architecture in Wedgwood
After Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered an increase in military preparedness in the USA. This directly affected the Seattle area due to its nearby military bases and production of war-related materials like … Continue reading
Saving Wedgwood: Historic Preservation and Best-Use Planning in the Commercial Zones
In the 1940s during World War Two the population of Seattle swelled with war workers, and in the 1950s the population continued to increase with people who wanted to make their homes here in the beautiful Seattle area. In the … Continue reading
Density on Wedgwood’s Western Edge
In the 1980s the City of Seattle began to set neighborhood “boundaries” to give Seattle residents a sense of place and of civic involvement. Today the Seattle City Clerk’s maps of neighborhoods as listed, are still given for that purpose. Some … 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
Early Architecture in Wedgwood
The history of the Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle goes back only a little more than one hundred years. Wedgwood was slow to be settled because northeast Seattle was inland, not located on a water resource such as a river … Continue reading
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