Category Archives: Neighborhood features

The Swansons of Ravenna Valley

The little community of Ravenna in northeast Seattle began to expand in the early 1900s.  Population growth naturally moved in that direction as more people clustered near to the University of Washington. The growth of northeast Seattle was further stimulated … Continue reading

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Ravenna in Seattle

Where is “Ravenna” in Seattle? When asked to define a neighborhood we might think of natural boundaries such as ravines or rivers.   There are also man-made dividing lines such as streets and business districts. The Ravenna business districts are along … Continue reading

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Hunter Tree Farm in Wedgwood in 2021

The Hunter family of the Olympic Peninsula farm, dating back to the 1880s, began growing Christmas trees in 1948. In the 1950s the Hunters began selling cut trees in Seattle.  After the site in the present Northgate area closed, the … Continue reading

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Names in the Neighborhood: Rogers School

In the summer of 2023 the John Rogers School building at 4030 NE 109th Street was demolished.  Over the next two years a new building was constructed on the same site.  This blog article is a history of the school’s … Continue reading

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Names in the Neighborhood: Bryant

In northeast Seattle most of the neighborhood names are those of real estate developments such as Wedgwood, which originally was only a plat name. The builder of the Wedgwood group of houses, Albert Balch, did not deliberately set out to … Continue reading

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The Trees of October in Wedgwood

Wedgwood in northeast Seattle enjoys the autumn colors of leaves in October and November.  Street trees called Flame Ash will turn a deep red along 35th Ave NE. The Flame Ash street trees which line 35th Ave NE were planted … Continue reading

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Aretha Curtis and Maple Leaf Gardens

In the years 1915 to 1945 the lives of Americans were bracketed by two world wars with an economic depression in the middle. For a few years in the 1920s, after the First World War and before the stock market … Continue reading

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Martha Hawks, Real Estate Agent in Morningside Heights

In the 1920s the (future) Wedgwood neighborhood first began to be known as Morningside Heights, the name of a real estate development.    Growth was facilitated by the new Victory Way highway, today’s Lake City Way NE, which made it much … Continue reading

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Old-Time Stores and Gas Stations on Sand Point Way NE

Establishment of the Naval Air Station on the shore of Lake Washington in 1927 was the catalyst for street improvements and commercial development along Sand Point Way NE.  The City of Seattle officially named Sand Point Way and coordinated with … Continue reading

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Sand Point Way NE: Stores and Stations at NE 97th Street

The establishment of the Naval Air Station at Sand Point in the 1920s caused Sand Point Way NE to become an arterial street.  Even though the naval base grew slowly at first, its presence caused northeast Seattle to hope for … Continue reading

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