Introduction

Welcome to a brief history of the block between 41st and 42nd Street, and 11th and 12th Street in Seattle, Washington.  This block is just north of the University of Washington’s West Campus, and contains a building owned by the UW.  The area was residential when it was first settled over 150 years ago, with mostly small houses meant to serve one or two families.  As time wore on, those houses were turned into apartments, and those apartments got taller and more dense in order to accommodate the massive influx of people to the U District, and the city in general.  This was, and still is, especially true in my block, given its proximity to the UW.  Looking toward the future, plans are already in place to make the buildings on my block even taller, responding to the ever-growing need for student housing, and, on a broader scale, reflecting the continuing urbanization of Seattle.  I hope that you, as a reader of this report, find what I’ve discovered as informative and illuminating as I have.