Seattle Press on Line - Seattle's Original North District: Queen Anne

Seattle's Original North District: Queen Anne

By Roberta Cruger

Looking up Queen Anne Avenue at the old trolley. Cars were pulled up the hill by means of a counterbalance weight on a cable, and the hill is still known as the Counterbalance because of this. Photo courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry.

Mar 14, 2002 -- During the '90s, the population of Queen Anne increased 1200 percent, home prices shot sky-high and the economic boom created a flurry of building, new business start-ups and subsequent traffic congestion. The neighborhood became a swanky destination not just a quiet residential community.

That was the 1890s--when the residents grew from 3,530 to 42,837 overnight as trolleys brought them up the steep ascent. Not quite the changes that the 1990s boom brought, but, despite the hill's peak and valleys, Queen Anne has long attracted expansion and gentrification. Growing pangs are not new to this area at the edge of downtown.

When pioneer settlers arrived in the 1850s, the patch of land where the Seattle Center sits now was Potlatch Meadows. Native Americans netted ducks flying between Lake Union and Salmon Bay, and naturally it offered perfect fishing.

700 W Lee St. at 7th Ave. W. Jeryl Kolb photo.

The southern slope of the 457-foot hill was claimed by Thomas Mercer, who referred to it as Eden, with its spectacular views of the city and landscape. Loathe to shear off the hilltop, the other slopes were logged gradually since topography has always been a challenge in Queen Anne and delayed development. Providence stepped in with a giant windstorm in 1875, knocking down thousands of trees. The railroads hustled things along and business bustled at stops, such as Nickerson along the Outlet or Ship Canal.

The cable car's introduction allowed travel up the 20 percent grade and in 1901, the electric streetcar hoisted folks up Queen Anne Avenue--then called Temperance Avenue (for prohibition supporters)--and also known as the Counterbalance for the complicated, clever underground weight system on the incline.

The former Queen Anne High School on N Galer Street. The building is now condominiums. Jeryl Kolb photo.

Queen Anne was annexed to Seattle in 1892 but the North District, as it was called, was considered the city's first flourishing suburb. Lots in the 1890s ran from $300 to a couple thousand. Prestigious homes with sweeping views were built by the wealthy, such as George Kinnear, primarily in the Victorian architectural style noted for its elaborate designs, pitched roofs, gables, round towers, decorative spindlework and patterned shingles. Realtors latched on to naming the area Queen Anne Town for these fancy homes along Highland, Prospect and Comstock, and the royal title stuck.

The rich architectural heritage of Queen Anne has survived with dozens of landmarks and historically preserved buildings. Though Kinnear's vision of a residential neighborhood transformed Queen Anne, earning it an image of posh exclusivity, it's grand mansions share blocks with bungalows and cottages. Kinnear erected multiple-family dwellings such as the notable De la Mar Apartments. He also donated 14 acres of park to Seattle in 1897, leading the way for many affluent landholders of Queen Anne to follow suit, from Kerry to Kracke.

520 Kinnear Place. Jeryl Kolb photo.

The ritzy reputation of a fashionable society and moneyed professionals living in luxury on Queen Anne has never been representative of the majority of residents. Most were laborers and artisans, such as carpenters--working-class people who lived in modest houses and apartment complexes, working in nearby downtown or local saw mills.

While social clubs abounded--from bicyclist to garden groups, the Kinnears, Blaines, McGraws, Bagleys and Wheelers were also an intellectual group and early supporters of women's suffrage as well as opposed to oppression of the Chinese. The advocacy included vigorous campaigns for city services and street improvements from grading to planking and paving. Residents' demands for city services is just one of the traditions that continue.

"It's a powerful community that can keep four-way stops on its major thoroughfare," remarks Larry Kreisman, program director of Historic Seattle and a member of the Landmarks Board about the lack of traffic lights on Queen Anne Avenue. "Isn't that amazing?"

Frantz H. Coe school, 433 6th Ave. W. The school burned down on January 21, 2001. Photo courtesy of the Pemco Webster and Stevens Collection at the Museum of History and Industry.

By the '70s, Queen Anne High School's population had dwindled from 2,600 students to under 1,000, and the school was in danger of demolition. Historic Seattle stepped in to rescue the structure, transforming the Beaux Arts building into unique condos. When Coe School, built in 1904, burned down last year, the Parent-Teacher Association became active in plans for reconstruction.

Queen Anne has seen 25 hospitals, convalescent homes and sanitariums over the years. And in 1948 the TV towers came to the hills, which activists kept from growing taller. The World's Fair came to the foothills in 1962, affecting Lower Queen Anne--or the preferable term, the Uptown District. Former farms and dairies have moved on to greener pastures. Cows that roamed the hilltop were sent out Farm Street (now Aurora)--none too soon for complaining neighbors.

Queen Anne holds a historic and architectural significance from the Ankenny House and Stuart Residence, the library, Seattle Pacific University, the water standpipe, series of walls and stairs on the western slope, and the 10 acres of Mt. Pleasant Cemetery provides a tour of with the remains of pioneers, notables and a diverse group from the Chinese Chong Wa Society, a Jewish congregation, the Industrial Workers of the World and victims of the Wellington train disaster.

The courtyard of the Delamar Apartments, 115 Olympic Pl. W. Jeryl Kolb photo.

Community concerns have always been about light, air and space, and Queen Anne's residents--of all economic strata, not just the well-to-do--have long fought for their quality of life. It used to be that a baker, grocery, and barber were around the corner, but this romantic notion of mom-and-pop shops may be vanishing. Supermarkets, cafe chains and dry cleaners have replaced Nelson's Market, the confectioners, cobblers and tailors. But there are a few holdovers, like A&J Meats, that keep the village atmosphere alive.

Thriving business brings crowds and congestion. As the community grapples with the pressures of progress they watch the vestiges of the past disappear. "If people can't read their streets the same way," says Kreisman about the effect of high-density housing and retail on the character of a neighborhood, "they ask 'What's the pay off?'" He compares it to pulling a few teeth: "The continuity of the smile will be lost."

Bob Frazier, president of the Queen Anne Historical Society, remembers a quieter, more isolated place without parking problems in the last few decades. "New restaurants draw a wider clientele, and the commercial district is much busier," he notes. "It's good for business." But where's the room for further development? "Upward."

Reader Comments

Discuss this article in the forums!


ronald	Dec 06, 2003	holland
its cool in holland


Willy	Mar 25, 2004	San Francisco
it's warm in San Francisco


chris	Apr 16, 2004	seattle	student
it's just right in Seattle


Theresa	Jul 06, 2004	Hawaii
it's pretty hot here!