The Fukano Family in Fremont

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

In the early 1900s in Seattle, Japanese immigrants were largely confined to Nihonmachi (today’s International District) where they operated stores and restaurants. Photo courtesy of Densho.

In Washington State in the year 1910, the census showed that one out of every four residents was foreign-born.  Of the other three out of four, many were first-generation, born in the USA of immigrant parents, and having come to Washington from the eastern USA.  For that reason, in Seattle in 1910 “diversity” could be measured by whether you were of Swedish, Norwegian or German origin:  the most numerous of immigrant backgrounds.

Immigrants from Scandinavia and northern Europe, especially those who worked in logging, fishing or carpentry, populated working-class neighborhoods like Ballard and Fremont in Seattle.  They were quickly assimilated, unlike Japanese immigrants who were marked by their obvious racial difference.  Japanese immigrants to Seattle in the early 1900s were largely confined to the Nihonmachi district.

Copyright notice:  text and photos on this article are protected by Creative Commons Copyright.  Do not copy text or photos unless you ask permission first, and agree to cite the original source.

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Fremont in Seattle: Street Names and Neighborhood Boundaries

Posted on November 26, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

The view from the Fremont Bridge

Fremont in Seattle began as a planned community after investors purchased the land and filed a plat map in May 1888.  A “plat” is any defined area of land for which a plan of lots and streets is laid out.

The investors, who were from Fremont, Nebraska, thought that Fremont would be a good name for this suburb, outside the city limits of Seattle at that time.

Before Fremont received its name in 1888, in the 1850s it had been the homestead claim property of William A. Strickler.  Strickler was a single man, age 30, who was from Virginia and who arrived in Seattle in 1853.

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The Fremont Neighborhood in Seattle: Why the Name?

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Today’s view of the Fremont Bridge includes the Aurora Bridge just to the east.

Each neighborhood of Seattle proudly waves the banner of its unique name, and yet many were named in a similar way:  by real estate investors.   Fremont in Seattle was also named by real estate investors.  What made the Seattle neighborhood called Fremont stand out from others, was its good location, its jump-start after Seattle’s Great Fire of 1889, and its vigorous developers who utilized the growing streetcar system to advantage.

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Blogging in Seattle History

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Wedgwood School is on NE 85th Street at 30th Ave NE.

In September 1991 when my daughter entered kindergarten at Wedgwood School, it was a déjà vu moment for me because she was walking into the same classroom where I had attended in my own kindergarten year at Wedgwood School.

As I participated in the Wedgwood School PTA, I drew upon my background of having grown up in the Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle.  The PTA projects of that 1991-1992 school year led to the local history writings which I have continued to do up to the present day.

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Wedgwood Business Feature: Johnson’s Auto Repair

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Johnson’s Auto Repair is a long-time, locally-owned business in Wedgwood on 35th Ave NE at the southeast corner of NE 95th Street.  This full-service repair shop has high ratings for quality and service.

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Wedgwood Business Feature: Adams Insurance

Posted on October 15, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

The summer of 2017 marked the fortieth work anniversary for Liz Jones of the Adams Insurance Agency at 8613 35th Ave NE in the Wedgwood neighborhood’s business district.  Liz, co-owner of Adams Insurance, is Wedgwood’s longest-time worker, and now business owner.

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Density on Wedgwood’s Western Edge

Posted on October 7, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

The Seattle City Clerk’s on-line map:  the northwest corner of Wedgwood adjoins Lake City Way NE between NE 85th to 95th Streets.  Wedgwood extends from NE 75th to 95th Streets and is bounded on the east by 45th Ave NE.

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 Wedgwood residents may not feel that the City-defined boundaries match their mental map of their neighborhood.  For that reason, few people realized that the western edge of the Wedgwood neighborhood reaches all the way over to Lake City Way NE between NE 85th to 95th Streets.  And few people were aware that until recently, there was a trailer park at the western edge of Wedgwood at 2101 NE 88th Street, adjoining Lake City Way NE.

A new townhouse development is being built on the former trailer park site in western Wedgwood, to be completed in the year 2020.  The evolution of this site from auto camp to trailer park to townhouse development, shows the changes in northeast Seattle as it is gradually becoming more urbanized over many years’ time.

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Density and Proposed Zoning Changes in Wedgwood

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

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 meeting marked the completion of five years of advocacy by neighborhood activists to seek preservation of Wedgwood’s business district.  But due to complete lack of action by Seattle City Council, as of the year 2017 Wedgwood’s business district is being destroyed, building by building.

Wedgwoodians want their commercial district to have a variety of locally-owned shops.

Changes in zoning could have helped to protect the business environment along 35th Ave NE in the face of oncoming developments, including replacement of any current buildings when that occurs, at the “nodes” (intersections) of NE 75th and 85th Streets along 35th Ave NE in Wedgwood.  The Neighborhood Commercial Zone which was proposed by the Future of 35th recommendations, would apply to future development in the event that any of the buildings at these corners are torn down and rebuilt.

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Redevelopment in Wedgwood’s Commercial District

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Evans Thriftway was in a 1946 grocery building which was remodelled and expanded in 1956-1957 and renamed for owner Russ Evans. The Jasper Apartments are now on this site. Photo courtesy of Puget Sound Regional Archives. The writing on the photo is the legal description with block number and address.

The commercial district of the Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle is arranged along the arterial 35th Avenue NE with clusters of stores at the NE 75th and NE 85th Street intersections.  The majority of the storefronts and office buildings were built during an intense period of development after World War Two ended in 1945.

Soldiers returning from the war married and started families, and in the 1940s and 1950s the vast areas of vacant land in northeast Seattle filled up with single-family housing.  During those years with a growing customer base in the new Wedgwood neighborhood, the Wedgwood business district took form with various kinds of stores and services.  The business district is primarily aligned along the linear arterial of 35th Ave NE and has a 1950s aspect because that decade was the peak period of small businesses.

Today we are beginning to see the tear-down and replacement of commercial buildings in Wedgwood along 35th Ave NE.  Due to the lack of action from Seattle City Council on zoning issues, townhouses with blank walls are being built in the commercial district instead of the storefronts which are wanted by the Wedgwood community.

This blog article will primarily address what happened from 2012 to 2017 with the Jasper Apartments, 8606 35th Ave NE, which marked a major change in the type of commercial building in Wedgwood.  As of 2022 another major change in the neighborhood is pending, the redevelopment of the shopping center at the southeast corner of NE 85th Street.  That project was just announced in 2022 and will be discussed in another article on this blog as plans for the project are firmed up.

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Finding House Histories in Wedgwood

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Do you know the history of your house?   Information about your house, including its age and its setting in the Wedgwood neighborhood of northeast Seattle, can tell you about the house itself and about the people who have lived on your street.  In learning about your house and neighborhood, you can share the info with neighbors to help build camaraderie on your block.

Many house-history resources are now on-line, while other materials are best accessed by an in-person trip to City and County archives.

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Posted in Houses, Land records and surveys, research resources | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments