Search Results for: life of balch
Growing Up with Balch
In the summer of 1953 sixteen-year-old Jon Jarvis, newly possessed of a driver’s license, enjoyed chugging around Wedgwood in a Model T Ford he had acquired. Lack of a driver’s license did not stop Jon’s thirteen-year-old brother Terry from driving … 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
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
An Immigrant in Wedgwood: Gerda’s Story
Perry & Gerda Frumkin were among the young married couples who found a new home in northeast Seattle in the post-World-War-Two years of 1945 to 1965. Northeast Seattle was at that time a region where developer Albert Balch had acquired … Continue reading
Immigrants, Houses and Growth in Northeast Seattle
The growth of Seattle is the story of waves of immigrants responding to historic events and economic opportunities in the young city. This blog article is about people on 40th Ave NE around NE 70th Street in northeast Seattle in … Continue reading
The Business District of Wedgwood, Then and Now
Those of us who grew up in the Wedgwood neighborhood of northeast Seattle tend to be nostalgic about businesses and buildings of bygone years. Some types of businesses which once were in Wedgwood, such as Dairy Queen, 7-Eleven stores and … Continue reading
The Early Community in the State Park Plat in Wedgwood
In the early 1900s almost no one lived in what is now the Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle, due to the area’s lack of access to water, its remoteness and the lack of roads. In the 1870s, Capt. DeWitt C. … Continue reading
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
Wedgwood Neighborhood History Trivia Quiz
Test your knowledge of Wedgwood neighborhood history with this quiz. Answers to the quiz follow Question #17. 1. In which neighborhood is Wedgwood Rock? Wedgwood (duh!) Meadowbrook Ravenna 2. What does the “P” in P-Patch stand for? Peat, for the … Continue reading
