Wedgwood, Seattle, Washington

About the Seattle Wedgwood is a middle class residential neighborhood of northeast Seattle, Washington, with a modest commercial strip. Wedgwood is located about two miles (3 km) north, and slightly east, of the University of Washington; it is about six miles (10 km) northeast of Downtown. The neighborhood is further typical of Seattle neighborhoods in having more than one name and having different, overlapping, but well-documented definitions of the neighborhood.

The misspelling Wedgewood is not uncommon—it is used by at least five businesses and even appears in the unofficial "City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas"cite web | last =Wilma | first =David | coauthors = |date=2001-07-24 | year = | month = | url=http://www.historylink.org/output.cfm?file_id=3462 | title ="Seattle Neighborhoods: Wedgwood -- Thumbnail History" | work =Historylink.org Essay 3462 | publisher = | accessdate =2006-04-21]

(1)cite web
date =n.d., map .jpgdated 2002-06-17
year =
month =
url =http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~public/nmaps/html/NN-1050S.htm
title ="Wedgwood"
work =Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas
publisher =Office of the Seattle City Clerk
accessdate =2006-04-21
Maps "NN-1030S", "NN-1040S".jpg17 June 2002.
(2) cite web
last =
first =
date =Revised 2006-04-30
year =
month =
url =http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~public/about.htm
title ="About the Seattle City Clerk's On-line Information Services"
work =Information Services
publisher =Seattle City Clerk's Office
accessdate =2006-05-21
See heading, "Note about limitations of these data".
Accessed December 2004, re-accessed 15 July 2006, so the site has been this way at least 18 months.
(3) Shenk, Pollack, Dornfield, Frantilla, & Neman
"Sources for this atlas and the neighborhood names used in it include a 1980 neighborhood map produced by the Department of Community Development (relocated to the Department of Neighborhoods [http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/neighborhoods/resources.htm] and other agencies), Seattle Public Library indexes, a 1984-1986 Neighborhood Profiles feature series in the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", numerous parks, land use and transportation planning studies, and records in the Seattle Municipal Archives [http://www.cityofseattle.net/CityArchives/] ." [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~public/about.htm]
See also the "Neighbors" project of the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" and "Webtowns" of the on-line "P-I".
See also Seattle neighborhoods #Informal districts.] —but the origin and spelling of the name are clear: the neighborhood was named after the English bone china-maker Wedgwood, the favorite of the wife of Albert ("Al") Balch (1903–1976), the developer who named the neighborhood. Balch was also the founder of adjoining View Ridge.

History

The area has been inhabited since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 B.C.E.—10,000 years ago). The "Dkh^w'Duw'Absh", "the People of the Inside", and the "xachua'bsh" or "hah-choo-AHBSH", "People of a Large Lake" or "Lake People", today the Duwamish tribe, Native Americans of the Lushootseed (Skagit-Nisqually) Coast Salish hunted and traveled through what is now Wedgwood. [Dailey, (29, ref. 2, 8)] The Wedgwood Rock, a glacial erratic boulder convert|19|ft|m|abbr=on tall by convert|75|ft|m|abbr=on circumference (5.8 m by 23 m) became the intersection of a number of trails through dense, old growth forest that covered what is now Seattle. The neighborhood has adopted Big Rock after it was protected from housing development in 1941.

The land that formed the original core of Wedgwood, west of 35th Avenue NE between 80th and 85th Streets, was at one time a heavily wooded ginseng farm. Charles E. Thorpe had cleared a portion of his 40 acre tract north of the Seattle city limits of the time, building a log cabin from the wood of his own trees. By the 1920s, 35th Avenue NE was becoming a thoroughfare with homes and businesses (the first store opened in 1922), the electric (1923), water (1926), and sewer grids had been extended to the area, and it was becoming too urban for Thorpe's tastes. The Jesuit institution Seattle University paid Thorpe $65,000 for the property, planning to build a new campus there and move north from First Hill. Thorpe left Seattle, never to return.cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
author =
coauthors =
url =
title =Thorpe
work =Wedgwood Heritage Project
publisher =Wedgwood Community News
pages =
page =
date=April/May 1995
accessdate =2006-07-15] cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
author =
coauthors =
url =
title = The First Store in Wedgwood
work =Wedgwood Community Newsletter
publisher =Wedgwood Community Council
pages =
page =
date=May 2001
accessdate =]

One month later came the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The Great Depression put the Jesuits plans for the new campus on hold. Thorpe's cabin became St. Ignatius Parish in 1929; the congregation grew through the Depression years, although it was served at that time only by visiting priests. By 1940, the Jesuits had decided not to relocate Seattle University, and sold Thorpe's 40 acres to Albert Balch at a loss, for only $22,500, barely a third of what they had paid for the land in 1929. [http://parish.ollseattle.org/ParishHistory.aspx Parish History] , Our Lady of the Lake Parish. Accessed online 31 July 2008.]

A Catholic presence remains in the neighborhood: the parish of St. Ignatius became the parish of Our Lady of the Lake at its present location on 35th Avenue at 89th Street NE (c. 1961). [cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://parish.ollseattle.org/about-history.html
title ="Parish History"
work =About Us
publisher =Our Lady of the Lake Parish
accessdate =2006-07-15
Includes photo of the 1961 dedication of the current church.] [ [http://www.ollseattle.org Home page] , Our Lady of the Lake Parish. Accessed online 31 July 2008.]

When Balch obtained the land from the Jesuits, it was still "completely undeveloped, heavily treed, and with only one structure," Thorpe's cabin. [cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
author =
coauthors =
url =
title = [no title]
work =
publisher =Wedgwood Echo
pages =
page =4
date=July 2005, volume 20, issue IV
accessdate =2006-07-15]

Major development of the neighborhood began during World War II with defense worker housing; initial development was largely by Balch and his partner Maury Seitzer. At the time, the area was north of Seattle city limits (Seattle ended at NE 65th Street). [cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
author =
coauthors =
url =
title = (untitled article)
work =Wedgwood Community Newsletter
publisher =Wedgwood Community Council
pages =
page =
date=September 1999
accessdate = The article discusses the Wedgwood Volunteer Fire Department (Fire District #19), founded November 11, 1943, absorbed (with Wedgwood) into the city March 20, 1945.] Balch and Seitzer built 500 homes on 40 acres (160,000 m², 16 hectares), constituting the center of today's Wedgwood neighborhood. The houses, each of which originally sold for $5,000 ($65,900 in 2005 dollars),Conversely, $5000 in 2005 dollars would buy $380 in 1941 dollars. Further, virtually all the Wedgwood housing stock has been extensively updated if not renovated or restored over the years. For the inflation calculations, see cite web | last =Sahr | first =Robert | coauthors = | date =25 May 2006, minor corrections to revision 12 April 2006 | year = | month = | url=http://oregonstate.edu/dept/pol_sci/fac/sahr/sahr.htm | title ="Inflation Conversion Factors for Dollars 1665 to Estimated 2016" | work = | publisher =Oregon State University | accessdate =2006-07-21
Revised to reflect final 2005 CPI data and early 2006 inflation estimates from the OMB and CBO
Basic tables for 2005 were revised January 18, 2006, using final 2005 CPI, released that day by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most graphs in the price levels and the US economy section were revised January 23, 2006, to reflect final 2005 CPI.
The summary Excel file was revised March 10 and updated April 12, 2006, using the inflation estimates for 2006 and later years published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Tables for all other-year conversion factors were revised April 12, 2006, and minor corrections made May 25, 2006.
Original data from John J. McCusker and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "original data for conversion factors 1665 to estimated 2016 (pdf format)" [http://www.orst.edu/Dept/pol_sci/fac/sahr/derive_infcf16652005.pdf] , with an explanation of the conversion.
Firefox users can access items by downloading the “ieview” extension from Firefox. Then right-click and select “open link target in IE” when opening a link.] currently (as of 2005, 2006) all go for upwards of $300,000 ($22,800 in 1941 dollars); many (albeit with updating and often with further improvements and extensions) go for as much s $450,000.Fact|date=October 2007

The large P-Patch Community Garden near the west edge of the neighborhood, and the adjoining University Prep School [ [http://www.universityprep.org Home page] , University Prep School. Accessed online 31 July 2008.] and Temple Beth Am (Reform synagogue) [ [http://www.templebetham.org Home page] , Temple Beth Am. Accessed online 31 July 2008.] are on land that remained a working farm as late as 1965. Wedgwood has Seattle's oldest and largest P-Patch (mid-1960s); as of 2005, there are now 52 others. The "P" originally stood for "Picardo", the family that farmed the land (1922-1965). [cite web
date =c. 1994
url =http://www.cityofseattle.net/neighborhoods/ppatch/locations/5.htm
title ="P-Patch Community Gardens: Picardo Farm"
work =Home > Garden Locations > Picardo Farm
publisher =Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
accessdate =2006-07-15]

Just south of the old Picardo Farm is Dahl Playfield. [ [http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?id=499 Dahl Playfield] , Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed online 31 July 2008.] Like the P-Patch, it is former peat bog land, once known as the Ravenna Swamp. In the 1940s houses stood on part of what is now the playfield; at that time, Picardo Farm was the site contemplated for a park. However, after sewer lines were built along 25th Avenue NE in the late 1940s, houses began sinking in the peat; the city bought them out and turned the land into the "80th Street Playfield". In 1952, the bog caught fire: portions subsided as much as 5 feet (1.6 m), and the park was temporarily closed. Over the next few years, an estimated 75,000 cubic yards (57,000 cubic meters) of peat was replaced by fill dirt, and the park reopened. In 1955, the park was renamed after a former Park Board director, Waldo J. Dahl. In September 1992, the Wedgwood Community Council officially "adopted" the park. [cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
author =
coauthors =
url =
title = History of Dahl Field
work =Wedgwood Community Newsletter
publisher =Wedgwood Community Council
pages =
page =
date=September 1993
accessdate =]

The Wedgewood ["sic"] Estates apartment complex on NE 75th Street between 37th and 39th avenues NE was purchased by the Seattle Housing Authority in 2001 in an effort to preserve a supply of moderately priced housing in this part of Seattle. [cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date=2001-06-04
year =
month =
url =http://www.scn.org/wcc/news/shaletter.htm
title ="Seattle Housing Authority Letter on Wedgewood Estates"
work =
publisher =Wedgwood Community Council
accessdate =2006-07-15]

Business

Mr. & Mrs. Nick Jacklin opened the first store in what is now Wedgwood in 1922, before either electricity or city water reached the neighborhood. The building still survives as the garage of a house in the 7500 block of 35th Avenue NE.That same block was later (1949–1974) home of McGillivray's Variety and Gift Store, whose remarkable range of wares ranged from penny candy, children's clothing and hundreds of different children's birthday cards to "fine collector dolls… in a better selection than… even… the downtown Frederick & Nelson's" and "sequins in every color manufactured". [cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
author =
coauthors =
url =
title = McGillivray's: The Biggest Little Store in the Northwest — 1949 to 1974
work =Wedgwood Community Newsletter
publisher =Wedgwood Community Council
pages =
page =
date=July 1994
accessdate =]

Half a mile (0.7km) north, McVicar's Hardware Store (1946–1986)—in the space in the 8500 block of 35th Avenue NE that is now dance studio All That Dance—opened shortly after World War II. The shortage of consumer goods right after the war meant that some of their early stock was manufactured on-site from war surplus. Adapting their business to whatever people in the neighborhood wanted to buy, as Wedgwood residents began putting in lawns and gardens, McVicar's sold them the requisite supplies; they sold specialty foods and rented out skis; they were also, for a decade, the only hardware store in the state licensed to sell beer and wine. They ran do-it-yourself clinics on everything from tools to gourmet cooking; in 1954, they were mentioned in a "Time" magazine article on the do-it-yourself trend. [cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
author =
coauthors =
url =
title = McVicar's Hardware Store
work =Wedgwood Community Newsletter
publisher =Wedgwood Community Council
pages =
page =
date=November 1992
accessdate =] [cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
author =
coauthors =
url =
title = McVicar's and the Halloween Windows
work =Wedgwood Community Newsletter
publisher =Wedgwood Community Council
pages =
page =
date=September 2001
accessdate =] [cite news
first =Carole
last =Beers
author =Carole Beers
coauthors =
url =http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950922&slug=2142886
title = Hardware Retailer Grant McVicar, 74; His Store's Coffeepot Was Always On
work =
publisher =The Seattle Times
pages =
page =
date=September 22, 1995
accessdate =]

Today, there is a shopping district along 35th Avenue NE, with concentrations of stores at NE 75th Street and NE 85th Street, including a supermarket at each of these corners; a lesser concentration near NE 95th Street includes the Fiddler's Inn bar, a live music venue, one of relatively few this far from the center of the city. Near that intersection, a gas station, veterinary office and east-coast style hunan Chinese restaurant and bar reside. The Wedgwood Broiler is a quintessential '50s American style neighborhood restaurant and bar. And while 35th NE doesn't rise to the level of having "street life", it does have a good smattering of businesses, including numerous banks, a U.S. Post Office, [cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://www.switchboard.com/bin/cgiad.dll?PR=139&BI=19444842&LNK=54:9&MEM=1355&CID=1222&Z=98115&QV=DEBFFAA3457648D785D1A46014FF5010l02A2EE1B628AF742AF303203O0107AE7A86AABA4425CF3203O07856B7992AABA4477303203O03852F3D92AABA44E3CF3203&QR=1&QX=1&QT=BCD
title ="Post Office Details"
work =Locator
publisher =USPS
accessdate =2006-07-15
for Wedgwood post office] coffee shops, restaurants, several popular bars, a dance school, a dry cleaner, the Seattle branch of the Audubon Society, [cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://www.volunteersolutions.org/uwkc/org/219564.html
title ="Seattle Audubon Society"
work =Volunteer Solutions
publisher =United Way of King County
accessdate =2006-07-15] miscellaneous medical offices, and a variety of retail stores, mostly independent.

On NE 68th Street, just south of what the city unofficially defines to be Wedgwood proper is the Seattle Public Library North East Branch, [cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=branch_open&branchID=20
title ="Northeast Branch"
work =
publisher =Seattle Public Library
accessdate =2006-07-15] the largest neighborhood branch and the second-busiest public library, second only to the Seattle Central Library. [cite web
title= North East Branch, The Seattle Public Library, reopens after a $4,765,276 expansion project on June 26, 2004.
last =Becker
first = Paula
year=2005
date = 2005-05-22
url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7321
publisher = HistoryLink
accessdate =2008-07-31] At NE 70th Street is the Grateful Bread Cafe, a bakery-coffeehouse that sometimes hosts live music and community events; [ [http://www.gratefulbreadbaking.com Grateful Bread Cafe] , official site, accessed 31 July 2008.] and Seattle-based Top Pot Doughnuts. [ [http://www.toppotdoughnuts.com Top Pot Doughnuts] , official site, accessed 31 July 2008.]

Community

Community organizations

In 1946, Wedgwood residents formed Wedgwood Community Club, which lasted for several decades, but eventually petered out. In the 1980s this vacuum was filled by the current Wedgwood Community Council. [cite news
first =Valarie
last =Bunn
title = (untitled)
work =Wedgwood Community Newsletter
publisher =Wedgwood Community Council
date=January 1997] [ [http://www.scn.org/wcc Wedgwood Community Council] official site, accessed online 31 July 2008.]

The Musicians Emeritus Symphony Orchestra (MESO), Wedgwood's non-profit community orchestra, was founded in 1971 by Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman. MESO was originally intended specifically for older musicians, and as of 2008, the oldest is 91 years old, but now the orchestra includes players of all ages. Currently MESO rehearses and performs in the Wedgwood neighborhood. Four times a concert season, MESO performs at the University Prep Academy. [cite web
url =http://www.mesoseattle.org
title ="Musicians Emeritus Symphony Orchestra"
publisher =Musicians Emeritus Symphony Orchestra
accessdate =2008-07-31] [Valerie Coon, "Wedgwood's Own Symphony Orchestra, "Wedgwood Echo", September 2008, Volume 23, Issue V, p. 6.]

Education

Wedgwood, as defined by the unofficial city map, includes the public Wedgwood Elementary School (Kindergarten–5th grade), [cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date=September 2004 updated; 2002
year =
month =
url =http://schoolguide.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolprofile.cfm?profileID=3026MLE&gradelevel=E
title ="Wedgwood Elementary"
work =School Guide > Public schools
publisher =The Seattle Times
accessdate =2006-07-15] [cite web
url =http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/wedgwood/
title ="Wedgwood Elementary School"
publisher =Seattle Public Schools
accessdate =2006-07-15] Seattle Jewish Community School (K-5), [cite web
date=September 2004 updated; 2002
url =http://schoolguide.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolprofile.cfm?profileID=8017MRE
title ="Seattle Jewish Community School"
work =School Guide > Private schools
publisher =The Seattle Times
accessdate =2006-07-15cite web
url =http://www.sjcs.net
title ="Seattle Jewish Community School"
publisher =Seattle Jewish Community School
accessdate =2008-07-31]
Roman Catholic Our Lady of the Lake Parish School (K–8), [cite web
date=September 2004 updated; 2002
url =http://schoolguide.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolprofile.cfm?profileID=8054MCP&gradelevel=E
title ="Our Lady of The Lake Parish School"
work =School Guide > Private schools
publisher =The Seattle Times
accessdate =2006-07-15] [ [http://school.ollseattle.org Our Lady of the Lake Parish School] , Our Lady of the Lake Parish. Accessed online 31 July 2008.] and University Prep (6–12). [cite web
date=September 2004 updated; 2002
url =http://schoolguide.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolprofile.cfm?profileID=8399MSH&gradelevel=H
title ="University Preparatory Academy"
work =School Guide > Private schools
publisher =The Seattle Times
accessdate =2006-07-15] [cite web
url =http://www./universityprep.org
title ="University Preparatory Academy"
publisher =UniversityPrep.org
accessdate =2006-07-15] Of these, perhaps the most notable are University Prep, one of Seattle's leading secular preparatory schools, and the Seattle Jewish Community School, which attempts to bridge the various streams of Judaism, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, etc. in a single elementary school. The public Eckstein Middle School, 6–8, [cite web
date=September 2004 updated; 2002
year =
month =
url =http://schoolguide.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolprofile.cfm?profileID=8017MRE&gradelevel=E
title ="Eckstein Middle School"
work =School Guide > Public schools
publisher =The Seattle Times
accessdate =2006-07-15] [ [http://www.eckstein.seattleschools.org/about_school Eckstein Middle School Overview] , Eckstein Middle School (Seattle Public Schools). Accessed 31 July 2008.] is immediately south of NE 75th Street (considered by some to place it just outside of Wedgwood). The nearby Concordia Lutheran School (K–8) [cite web
date=September 2004 updated; 2002
year =
month =
url =http://schoolguide.seattletimes.nwsource.com/schoolprofile.cfm?profileID=8032MRP&gradelevel=E
title ="Concordia Lutheran School"
work =School Guide > Private schools
publisher =The Seattle Times
accessdate =2006-07-15] [ [http://www.concordialutheranschool.com Concordia Lutheran School] official site. Accessed 31 July 2008.] is several blocks further south and is east of NE 35th Street, and might be considered to fall well within View Ridge.

Religion

Wedgwood and the adjoining View Ridge and Bryant neighborhoods constitute one of the three centers of Seattle's Jewish community, along with Seward Park and the suburb of Mercer Island; besides the Jewish Community School, Wedgwood has a Reform synagogue (Temple Beth Am) and until 2007 had a branch of the Stroum Jewish Community Center (the main part being on Mercer Island). A Conservative synagogue (Beth Shalom) and two Orthodox synagogues (the Emmanuel Congregation and Congregation Shaarei Tefilah, the latter associated with Chabad Lubavitch) are in walking distance, though outside of the city's unofficial boundary for the neighborhood. cite web
last =
first =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/webtowns/article.asp?WTID=34&ID=107891
title ="Sand Point: Popular parks and some airplane firsts"
work =Webtowns
publisher =Seattle Post-Intelligencer
accessdate =2006-07-21] Nonetheless, Jews constitute less than 10% of the neighborhood's population.Fact|date=October 2007

Also in Wedgwood are the Messiah Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) on 35th Avenue at 70th Street, Wedgwood Presbyterian Church [ [http://wedgpres.org Wedgwood Presbyterian] official site. Accessed 31 July 2008.] at NE 80th Street (which also hosts a Korean Presbyterian congregation), Roman Catholic Our Lady of the Lake with the parish school at NE 89th, and Wedgwood Community Church on 30th Avenue at 82nd Street. [ [http://www.wedgwoodchurch.org Wedgwood Community Church] official site shows as "under construction" 31 July 2008.] [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mbase/cgi-bin/DisplayPage.pl?source=edb&source_id=14662 Wedgwood Community Church] listing, "Seattle Times" website. Accessed 31 July 2008.] At the corner of 35th Avenue NE and NE 68th is the University Unitarian Church, a Modernist structure designed by Paul Hayden Kirk. [ [http://www.uuchurch.org/architecture/architect The Architect] , University Unitarian Church. Accessed 31 July 2008.]

Wedgwood also hosts a congregation of Mars Hill Church, a multi-campus church with several locations across western Washington. The church [cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date=
year =
month =
url =http://voxpopnetwork.com/wedgwood/about-wedgwood/
title ="Mars Hill Church Wedgwood Campus"
work =
publisher =
accessdate =] meets in a renovated Baptist church originally built in 1952 at 35th Ave NE and NE 95th. Official services began in October 2007.

Geography

Like all Seattle neighborhoods, Wedgwood has no official or universally agreed-upon borders. The unofficial "City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas" shows its boundaries as
* bounded on the north by NE 95th Street
* bounded on the east by 45th Avenue NE
* bounded on the south by NE 75th Street
* bounded on the west by a route coming north from NE 75th Street along 25th Avenue NE, then jogging due west along NE 85th Street and snaking up Lake City Way NE to NE 95th Street.

However, NE 75th Street presents no discernable break in the business strip along 35th Avenue NE, which continues south to NE 65th Street; many of the businesses, churches, etc. in these ten blocks identify themselves as being in Wedgwood; some even have "Wedgwood" in their names. If the City Clerk's unofficial borders are accepted, then the landmark Wedgwood Rock, a large convert|19|ft|m|sing=on-tall boulder at the corner of 28th Avenue NE and NE 72nd Street, lies in the adjoining Ravenna neighborhood.

Several other well-documented interpretations exist. Among them, "Seattle Neighborhoods" of HistoryLink.org "Encyclopedia of Washington State History" does not define boundaries for Wedgwood, other than as adjacent to surrounding neighborhoods. Their map suggests Wedgwood is between 25th and 45th Avenues, and 75th Street may divide from View Ridge neighborhood. [ (1)cite web
url =http://www.historylink.org/I-map/NE.htm
title ="Northeast"
work =Seattle Neighborhoods
publisher =HistoryLink.org
accessdate =2006-07-21
(2) cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://www.historylink.org/I-map/NEweg.htm
title ="Wedgwood & View Ridge"
work =Seattle Neighborhoods
publisher =HistoryLink.org
accessdate =2006-07-21]

The "Neighbors" project (1996–2000) of the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", currently updated as the "Webtowns" section of the on-line "P-I", defines Wedgwood a little differently. While they say the boundaries are NE 95th Street to the north, NE 75th Street to the south, 25th Ave NE to the west and approximately 45th Avenue NE to the west, "Neighbors" defines Wedgwood primarily in terms of a series of businesses and other public spaces on 35th Avenue NE, extending as far south as NE 68th Street: from south to north, the Northeast Library (NE 68th), Rod and Judy Neldam's Grateful Bread bakery (NE 70th), the post office at NE 77th, the Wedgwood Broiler (NE 83rd), Matthew's Red Apple Market (NE 85th, since overtaken by supermarket chain QFC), and finally the Fiddler's Inn Pub (NE 94th), built in 1934, a former dive that was fixed up in the early 1990s. They describe Wedgwood as having more in common with Ballard than with Capitol Hill (which is to say, not particularly hip or trendy), and say that downtown Wedgwood along 35th Avenue NE has a look and feel of a small town main street, for better and worse, as it struggles like Main Streets across the country in the age of malls and Internet shopping.cite web
last =
first =
date =
year =2000
month =
url =http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/neighbors/
title ="Neighbors"
work =Neighbors project
publisher =Seattle Post-Intelligencer
accessdate =2006-07-21
(2) cite web
last =Higgins
first =Mark
date=1998-02-07
year =
month =
url =http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/neighbors/wedgwood/
title ="A little slice of life that suits neighbors just fine"
work =Neighbors project
publisher =Seattle Post-Intelligencer
accessdate =2006-07-21
(3) cite web
last =Higgins
first =Mark
date=1998-02-07
year =
month =
url =http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/neighbors/wedgwood/hood31a.html
title ="Even the business district is small-town cozy"
work =Neighbors project
publisher =Seattle Post-Intelligencer
accessdate =2006-07-21
(4) cite web
last =Higgins
first =Mark
date=1998-02-07
year =
month =
url =http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/neighbors/wedgwood/hood31b.html
title ="From rats to schools, active council works to enhance community"
work =Neighbors project
publisher =Seattle Post-Intelligencer
accessdate =2006-07-21]

"Neighbors" further asserts that Wedgwood has always been a middle-class neighborhood, trending toward upper middle, with home sales suggesting that it is currently becoming more of a young family area, as the initial 1940s owners reach the end of their lives and Baby Boomers become retirees. Emblematic of this change, the former McVicar's space, after serving as a full-service bicycle shop 1986–2001, is now All That Dance, one of Seattle's largest dance studios with more than 1,000 students—mostly children, a testament to the changes in the area. [cite web | last =Wurzer | first = Maygan |date=2004-06-30 | year =2004 | url=http://www.all-that-dance.com/about/facilities.htm | title ="Facilities" | work = | publisher =All That Dance | accessdate =2006-08-23 and cite web | last =Wurzer | first = Maygan | url=http://www.all-that-dance.com/about/about.htm | title ="About" | work = | publisher =All That Dance | accessdate =2008-07-31] [cite news | first =Sarah | last =Lorenzini | author = | coauthors = | url=http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=14854767&BRD=855&PAG=461&dept_id=517907&rfi=8 | title ="Kids can exercise their bodies and minds this summer: Many North End studios are offering healthier activities for youths" | work = | publisher =North Seattle Herald-Outlook | pages = | page = |date=2005-07-13 | accessdate =2006-08-23] Wedgwood has long had an active neighborhood council, one of the most active in Seattle, effectively lobbying in and for the neighborhood, as well as working with the unusually numerous schools in the area.

The "P-I's" current "Webtowns" section has merged Wedgwood and View Ridge with Sand Point and two popular waterfront parks, Sand Point-Magnuson and Matthews Beach Park. "Webtowns" Wedgwood is located between Sand Point Way and a small business district on 35th Avenue NE around NE 75th Street. The neighborhood is described as less expensive, though with respect to Seattle housing prices, the comparison is relative to places with expansive views in tonier adjacent neighborhoods like View Ridge and Sand Point, or high demand like the University District. [ cite web
last =
first =
date=2006-07-15
year =
month =
url =http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/webtowns/town.asp?WTID=34
title ="Sand Point"
work =Webtowns
publisher =Seattle Post-Intelligencer
accessdate =2006-07-21]

National standards long adopted by the Seattle Department of Transportation define minor arterials, in part, as generally along neighborhood boundaries: NE 65th, 75th, and 95th streets, and 35th Avenue. [cite web
last =
first =
date =
year =2005
month =
url =http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps.htm
title ="Street Classification Maps"
work =
publisher =Seattle Department of Transportation
accessdate =2006-04-21
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/plan.pdf High-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 16.1 MB
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/planweb.pdf Medium-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 1.45 MB 12 January 2004.
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/planwebsmall.pdf Low-Resolution Version] , PDF format, 825 KB 12 January 2004.
[http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps/arterialslegend.pdf "Planned Arterials Map Legend Definitions"] , PDF format. 12 January 2004.
The high resolution version is good for printing, 11 x 17. The low and medium resolution versions are good for quicker online vewing. [Source: "Street Classification Maps, Note on Accessing These PDF Files" [http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps.htm#pdfnote] ] ] There is also a reasonable argument to be made that the northern boundary of Wedgwood is NE 100th Street as this street coincides with the northern limit of the 98115 ZIP Code.

See also

* Thornton Creek (Wedgwood is in the watershed)
* Daylighting (streams)

Note and references

Bibliography

*
Page links to [http://coastsalishmap.org/Village_Descriptions_Duwamish-Seattle.htm Village Descriptions Duwamish-Seattle section] .
Dailey referenced "Puget Sound Geography" by T. T. Waterman. Washington DC: National Anthropological Archives, mss. [n.d.] [ref. 2] ;
"Duwamish et al vs. United States of America, F-275". Washington DC: US Court of Claims, 1927. [ref. 5] ;
"Indian Lake Washington" by David Buerge in the "Seattle Weekly", 1-7 August 1984 [ref. 8] ;
"Seattle Before Seattle" by David Buerge in the "Seattle Weekly", 17-23 December 1980. [ref. 9] ;
"The Puyallup-Nisqually" by Marian W. Smith. New York: Columbia University Press, 1940. [ref. 10] .
Recommended start is [http://coastsalishmap.org/start_page.htm "Coast Salish Villages of Puget Sound"]
*
Includes photo of the 1961 dedication of the current church.
*
Sources for this atlas and the neighborhood names used in it include a 1980 neighborhood map produced by the Department of Community Development (relocated to the Department of Neighborhoods [http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/neighborhoods/resources.htm] and other agencies), Seattle Public Library indexes, a 1984-1986 Neighborhood Profiles feature series in the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", numerous parks, land use and transportation planning studies, and records in the Seattle Municipal Archives [http://www.cityofseattle.net/CityArchives/] .
See also the "Neighbors" project of the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" and "Webtowns" of the on-line "P-I".
See also Seattle neighborhoods#Informal districts.
*
Among other things, this gives a good account of the last farming in the neighborhood, of the initial development, and of the Wedgwood Rock; it also gives an extensive set of print references.

External links

* [http://www.scn.org/wcc/ Wedgwood Community Council]
* cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://www.northeastseattle.com/news/wedgwood.htm
title ="Wedgwood News" archive"
work =
publisher =NortheastSeattle.com
accessdate =2006-07-15