Site Report #2

One of the main aspects of Block 07 and the University District prior to urban development, was the presence of trees in the area. The whole area was a forested area that was on a hill that had a downgrade leading down to Portage Bay. Looking at the area now there is little evidence of there ever being trees on block 07. Before the Area was annexed by the city of Seattle in 1890's and primed for the building of the University of Washington, the area was defined by small farming settlements, and the locals were self sufficient. However the trend couldn’t last as the industrial machine of Seattle began to stretch its tendrils to the countryside. The once forested area began to become clear and ready for development. One of the reasons the site for construction was actually the trees themselves. To fuel the fire of urbanization, there needed to be wood to build and burn, so cities began reaching out to the countryside for logging. This was only the start though. Block 07 really started changing in 1885. This year marked the time when a railway was built into the University District, so in a time when there were no cars the railway created ease of access. Looking back it is clear that the area was involved in the Industrial Revolution occurring all across America in the mid to late 19th Century. The ease of access created by the railway made it so that the Brooklyn area (as it was called before the coining of the "University District") was suddenly habitable, and primed for new occupants. The December Plat that formed the Brooklyn addition was the first time that block 07 between the "ave" Brooklyn avenue, 45th and 43rd was planned. The block's natural trees and rural beginnings began to disappear. There wasn't much done to carve out a spot for buildings in a big swooping progress. Each building just took more and more of the natural environment and changed it to urban development. The biggest environmental change that occurred all at one time was the effort to grade the streets and sidewalks. The grading sharpened and chiseled the natural contour of the hill that the University District is situated on. The grading of the streets and sidewalks occurred in 1903 and 1904 Which was the second largest environmental change in the area and Block 07 since the cutting down of all the trees.. The land was plotted early to be a center of business and entertainment for the residents, and block 07 was one of the first blocks planned and established. The present state of the blocks "natural" environment is more artificial than anything. There are trees plotted on the sidewalks in little squares of dirt, and there is also some businesses that have plants or flowers outside of their stores. The vast forested area and small streams that wound their way down the hill are now nowhere to be found. The little trees in their little plots are laughably small and insignificant compared to the beauty of the land before industrialization. However the hill itself has not been flattened. You still notice is as you struggle up it’s grade to reach a business or look down the block towards the water. There will be a decline then it will flatten out at a cross street, then another decline. In conclusion, although the urbanization of the area has removed the trees and much of the greenery of the area, the hill still stands as a strong environmental factor in the area, and has shaped block 07’s development.