Category Archives: Controversies

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

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House-Moving from Shearwater in Wedgwood

In January 1972 a very unusual house-moving event took place in the Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle.  Twelve small houses (600 square feet each) were moved from 40th Ave NE near Decatur School, to 7320 35th Ave NE in the … Continue reading

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Centennial of the Seattle General Strike of 1919

The Labor Archives of Washington will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Seattle General Strike with a series of events in coming weeks and in an exhibit on the University of Washington campus. There will be book readings, documentary … Continue reading

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Density and Proposed Zoning Changes in Wedgwood

More than 150 people filled a meeting room in Wedgwood on June 24, 2015, to hear a presentation about how changes in zoning could help to develop more businesses and a more pedestrian-friendly walking environment along 35th Ave NE.  The … Continue reading

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Original Resources, Real History

Have you heard of Frederich Drumpf, a German immigrant who operated a restaurant in Seattle in the 1890s? Real historians use original documents and verify their sources, and in this essay by Seattle historian Rob Ketcherside, we see that getting … Continue reading

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The House in the Road

The years 1945 to 1955, from the end of World War Two until the Wedgwood neighborhood came completely into the city limits of Seattle, were years of rapid change.  The population of Seattle had swelled with war workers in the … Continue reading

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Hamburgers in Wedgwood

Wedgwood of the 1950s was a still-developing neighborhood with a lot of house construction in progress.  Although Albert Balch’s original group of Wedgwood houses was finished (from NE 80th to 85th Streets on the west side of 35th Ave NE) … Continue reading

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Shearwater part five: the end of Shearwater and the death of the Wedgwood Community Club in the 1970s

In the early 1970s the USA suffered through an economic recession, made worse in 1973 when an energy crisis began because of a Middle East oil and gas embargo.  In the USA gas prices skyrocketed and it affected air travel, … Continue reading

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Shearwater part four: the developer versus the Wedgwood Community Club, 1966 to 1970

On December 16, 1965, all the Shearwater land parcels on streets near Decatur School were sold at a government-property auction, with the stipulation that the buyer must remove the old barracks buildings within ninety days of the sale. The Wedgwood … Continue reading

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Shearwater part three: Shearwater victories and setbacks in the 1960s

The administrative wheels turned slowly but finally in 1959 the Navy got ready to release some of its property in Wedgwood for the site of a much-needed elementary school.   In September 1961 Decatur School opened at 7711 43rd Ave … Continue reading

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