Tag Archives: WPLongform

Wedgwood’s NE 85th Street Dividing Line

On September 2, 1858, a team of surveyors stood at what is now the center point of Seattle’s Wedgwood business district on 35th Ave NE at NE 85th Street.  The survey team of the year 1858 consisted of two chain … Continue reading

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Marshall Blinn: Logging and Land Speculation in Washington Territory

Before Washington became a state in 1889, territorial land claims recorded many names which are not now well-known.  Who were these early-arriving settlers? The map of what is now the Wedgwood and Meadowbrook neighborhoods of northeast Seattle is dotted with … Continue reading

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Names in the Neighborhood: Inverness

The Inverness neighborhood is located in northeast Seattle between NE 85th to 90th Streets, 45th Ave NE to Sand Point Way NE. Inverness is on a very steep hillside which had no houses or any kind of development until 1954. … Continue reading

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Names in the Neighborhood: from Keith to Hawthorne Hills

Some of the neighborhood names in northeast Seattle started out as plat names, then gradually became the identifiers for whole areas.  Wedgwood started as a plat name filed by developer Albert Balch in July 1941, from NE 80th to 85th … Continue reading

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Ryther: Making a Difference

Ryther is a nonprofit organization located in the Wedgwood neighborhood of Seattle, offering behavioral health services for children and families. At Ryther children receive guidance, coaching, counseling and teaching to experience new ways of thinking and overcoming challenges. Ryther’s legacy … Continue reading

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Albert Balch, Part Six: Architecture and Neighborhoods

Albert Balch, developer of Wedgwood, constantly watched trends and looked ahead to anticipate “the next thing” in the building of houses and neighborhoods. Balch saw that in the period following the end of World War Two, people were spreading out … Continue reading

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Albert Balch, Part Five: Spreading Wedgwoods Everywhere

In November 1888 two young men, employees of the Post-Intelligencer newspaper in Seattle, quit their jobs and went into real estate. They didn’t have any formal training in such work but their knowledge of the city and their belief in its potential … Continue reading

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Albert Balch, Part Four: A New Development in Wedgwood

In the year 1940 Albert Balch was 37 years old and he was at a turning point both personally and professionally.  He had been married seven years and his family had expanded to four children.  His father and mother had … Continue reading

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Albert Balch, Part Three: Learning Real Estate in View Ridge

As of January 1936 Albert Balch and Ralph Jones were on their way: they had started a new real estate development called View Ridge and had been able to get some buyers.  Although Balch & Jones had experience in advertising … Continue reading

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Albert Balch, Part Two: Finding a Career in the 1930s

Albert Balch, developer of the View Ridge and Wedgwood neighborhoods of northeast Seattle, did not start out to work in real estate.  As many college grads do, at first Balch struggled to find a suitable career. Albert Balch graduated from … Continue reading

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