Tag Archives: Neighborhood History

Working for Mr. Balch

The developer of the Wedgwood neighborhood, Albert Balch, was born in Gem, Idaho, finished high school in Blaine, Washington, and graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle.  In 1934 Balch was thirty years old, married and about to become … Continue reading

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Dairy Queen in Wedgwood

The first Dairy Queen store opened in Illinois in 1940 with immediate success.  The menu started out with ice cream and sundaes but soon expanded to malts, milkshakes, and banana splits.  The company began to register its trademark products and … Continue reading

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The Wedgwood Safeway

The intersection of 35th Ave NE and NE 75th Street had no buildings at any of the four corners until after 1946. The only building near to the corner of 75th & 35th was Ida’s Inn at 7500 35th Ave … Continue reading

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Street-grade: ups and downs in Wedgwood

Wedgwood’s main commercial corridor is along 35th Ave NE which was first declared an arterial in 1934.  Some improvements were made at that time, including some widening and some road-grading to level out the surface and make it more passable … Continue reading

Posted in 7321 35th Ave NE, 7528 35th Ave NE, Big Green House, Houses, streets | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

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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Names in the Neighborhood: from Pontiac to Wedgwood

In 1887 the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad was up and running, a line now followed by the Burke-Gilman Trail.  The railroad paralleled streetcar lines from downtown Seattle as far as Fremont which was a major transportation hub for … Continue reading

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The Thornton Creek Confluence at Meadowbrook Pond

The Thornton Creek Watershed is a system of big and small streams which drain the region of northeast Seattle, with the final outflow into Lake Washington at Matthews Beach, at about NE 93rd Street. The watershed has two main branches, … Continue reading

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Matthews Beach in Seattle in the 1930s

Matthews Beach Park in northeast Seattle is on the shore of Lake Washington, off of Sand Point Way NE at NE 93rd Street.  At twenty-two acres, it is Seattle’s largest freshwater bathing beach, and the beach is only one aspect … Continue reading

Posted in Meadowbrook neighborhood, parks | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Fischer Farm in Meadowbrook

It is hard for us to imagine the leap of faith made by people who immigrated to America a century ago.  In the 1800s, without the aids of television or radio, immigrants could not get a very clear idea of … Continue reading

Posted in farms, Immigrant heritage, Meadowbrook neighborhood | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments