Then & Now: Market Street in 1953

Posted on March 10, 2016 by SPierce

The Seattle Municipal Archives Photograph Collection is a time machine of sorts, providing Seattleites with the ability to look back in time at their city, neighborhood, and block. I browse the archives for fun, looking at old photos, maps, and other city documents that are available online, that is how I came across the photos for this post. I had seen them several times, but never investigated further because the description provided by the city was limited to the following:

Balenger

That was it. No address or other indication of location was provided. Armed with the plat name, I went to work locating the approximate address of the photos you’ll see below. I was surprised to find that these photos were of homes on Market Street, between 6th & 7th Ave NW. When you think of Market, you don’t think “residential street”, you think noise, big trucks, and traffic! These photos paint a different picture of Market and it looks rather quiet.

Kroll Map of 1920. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives Map Index, #1868.

The photos were part of a petition to the city, by Belanger and Belanger, asking that two parcels located in Block 2 of Ballard’s Addition to Gilman Park be rezoned. The request is dated January 26, 1953, which was four years after the Ballard – UW Extension, also known as the Ballard Spur, was created in 1949.

Ballard’s Addition to Gilman Park is a plat name provided by a long forgotten frontier developer, and block 2, which was reference by the city, is circled in red on the Kroll Map. This plat is made up of 10 blocks in the heart of the West Woodland Neighborhood, bordered by Market Street to the north, NW 50th Street to the south, and between 8th Ave NW & 3rd Ave NW.

The city denied the Belanger’s request for a rezone that year. I wasn’t able to find what zoning the Belanger’s were requesting, or why their request was denied. More to hunt down later. Enjoy the Market Street views circa 1953.

Looking south west on Market Street. The street sign on the left side shows 6th Ave NW. Photo courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 168422.

Then – January 26, 1953 & Now – March 9, 2016

Looking south on 7th Ave NW towards Market Street. Photo courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 168424.

Then & Now

Looking south east near 7th Ave NW & Market Street in 1953. Photo courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 168423.

Then & Now

Looking south west near 7th Ave NW & Market Street in 1953. Photo courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 168421.

Then & Now

About Plat Names:

Plats in Seattle have unique names provided by the land owner. So while you may live on the west side of Phinney, your plat name may be something Ballard related. Most plat names in our area were assigned during the land grab between the City of Ballard & City of Seattle, and owners may have chosen names to show where their allegiance lie.

In 1895, one frontier neighbor even went so far as to deed the City of Ballard a huge chunk on land on the west side of Phinney Hill. This parcel later became Greenwood Park, see Baist Map of 1905 below. Today, there’s just a sliver of this park remaining – Greenwood Triangle Park.

A plat is a section of surveyed land that the owner has created a plan for, including lot sizes and identifying where they believe streets will be. A plat document is used for construction purposes, filing for permits with the city, and showing to prospective buyers. The document shows how the area will be developed for personal use or lots sold for home building, but it does not mean that the area is already developed with basic infrastructure like roads. Sometimes items shown on plat documents are for future planning purposes and they currently only exist on paper. Something to consider when looking at old documents.

You may find that you live in a plat called “Steel Works Addition” or “Salmon Bay City”, both on the west side of Phinney Hill. Remember those are not neighborhood names, they are simply names assigned to a specific chunk of land by the property owner. You can learn about Seattle’s current plat process available HERE.

Baist map 1905

One Final Shot of Market Street:

This photo was taken 2 years after the photos above, in 1955, and was part of the file created to document the completion of the Market Street Widening project. Look closely at the right hand side of this photo, you can see the mid-century house that was once on the lot Belanger wanted to rezone. There are several other data points you can compare & connect with the photos above. I won’t point them all out – enjoy the hunt!

Looking east from 8th Ave NW & Market Street, 1955. Photo courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 52744.

Then & Now

Then & Now: Looking East at the corner of 8th Ave NW and Market Street

Posted on November 6, 2015 by SPierce

The black & white photo, courtesy the Seattle Municipal Archives, shows the intersection of 8th Ave NW and Market Street in August 1955.

The “Then” photo was taken to record the completion of the Market Street widening project. The project expanded Market Street and connected it to North 46th Street. On the right side of the photo you can see Moss Grocery and the homes that once lined the south-side of the intersection.

In the “Now” photo, Shell Service Station sits on the parcel once home to Moss Grocery and Ballard Mandarin Restaurant is on the left side. This same restaurant was once home to Inn Binn Restaurant, a wonderful family owned eatery that served amazing pot-stickers.

Then & Now – Market Street Widening

Posted on November 6, 2015 by SPierce

Updated: 09/29/2017

In 1903, the Seattle Parks Commissioners hired the famed Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm to design a comprehensive system of parks and boulevards for the city. West 55th Street was once part of the city wide boulevard system created by the Olmstead Brothers. Creation of the boulevard was intended as the western approach to the Woodland Park Zoo.

The western approach to the zoo was never fully realized, and as the NW corner of Seattle continued to grow there was a very real need for a direct route into downtown. Remember, the trolley tracks had been pulled up for the war effort, and public transportation meant locals were taking the bus. Seattleites were buying cars at a record rate; easy to finance and gas was cheap. People wanted roads.

An east-west highway between Ballard and the University District was studied as early as the 1920s (see map below), but in the mid-1940s discussion was heating up again and the City was preparing to proceed with construction. Neighbors along the route sent petitions of protest against the project. One asserted that the highway “is not whatever needed, since we have our streets and avenues all in sufficient for anybody who wants to travel through that District. If any improvement should respectably seem necessary, such could be established at a trifle of the cost in comparison with this proposed plan with all its burdensome expenses and destruction.”

Another petition claimed that the initial plans for the highway decades earlier “was opposed by the people of the District. The Merchants Improvement Club then was brought to shame for such an unreasonable plan, and promised never to bother us again.” The petition went on to list existing streets that provided a good route up the hill from Ballard to Phinney Avenue, insisting that this project “is really not needed.”

City Engineer C.L. Wartelle responded to the protests with the following:

The protestants appear to be mainly owners of properties which will be affected by the new route and their immediate neighbors. The protest is based upon the assertion that the connection is not needed, existing streets being sufficient, and that hundreds of families will be required to find new homes.

We believe the necessity of this route is obvious to all those who have studied the problem. Some twenty years ago the matter was before the City Council, and the only reason it did not proceed at that time was because no way could be found to finance it. The petitioners state the hundreds of families will lose their homes. There are 36 houses and 3 garages that will have to be taken. Most of the houses can be moved to new sites. It is regrettable that these 36 home owners will be inconvenienced, but there does not seem to be any other recourse.

We would therefore recommend that the condemnation proceed, and the petitioners be so informed.

Construction went forward in 1949 despite the neighbors’ complaints, although current residents might argue with not-so-speedy Market Street being designated a “highway.”

The completion of the Market Street widening project in 1955 allowed for direct access from Ballard into Fremont, Wallingford and beyond. Market Street became a critical commercial thoroughfare and to this day, goods and service continue to travel on this stretch of roadway.

Map of proposed surface and tunnel routes for proposed Ballard-University highway, dated 1929, courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives.

Before & After Aerial of Ballard-University Extension:

The left photo was taken in 1936 and the right photo in 2012. Both are courtesy King County Department of Assessment. When comparing the photos you can see the Market Street spur that now runs diagonal through the neighborhood. Many of the homes that were impacted by this roadways construction were moved to nearby vacant lots, including lots in the West Woodland neighborhood. In a future post I will highlight some of those homes. (Update: See photos here).

To read more about the Olmsted Brothers Park and Boulevard System plan please visit: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/history/

Photos of progress – Market Street Spur Construction

The Seattle Engineering Department has an official name for the Market Street spur – the Ballard and University Extension. This east leg of Market Street was completed in 1949 and connected the West Woodland neighborhood to Fremont, Wallingford and beyond. The rest of the Market Street widening project wouldn’t be completed until 1955, but for neighbors using the newly created spur, it made the trip into downtown Seattle fast and efficient.

The photos below are courtesy the Seattle Municipal Archives and show the very west end of the spur from the start of construction until completion in December 1949.

Approximate modern day view HERE.

March 25 1949 with date

Vintage West Woodland – Seattle

Sharing stories of the West Woodland Neighborhood located in Seattle, WA.

Tag Archives: Market Street

Then & Now: Market Street in 1953

Then & Now: Looking East at the corner of 8th Ave NW and Market Street

Then & Now – Market Street Widening