Site Report #3: The Audio Tour
An aerial image of the U District from 1946.
One of my favorite things to do is run along the Burke Gilman trail. I often am able to catch a glimpse of my site, which is located along the trail, next to the University Bridge. Recently as I’ve been able to research further into my site, I’ve also been able to learn more about the Burke Gilman trail and the U District.
Before the 1970s, the Burke Gilman trail was an area of land used for the Northern Pacific Railroad (Seattle Archives images). A person visiting the plot of land populated by Mercer Court apartmentstoday would have to drive over the tracks. Next to the bridge were “unsightly shacks and coal sheds” (Seattle Municipal News). The train would run by, entering into the forest which is now the University of Washington. Now, the tracks have been removed, and the Burke Gilman trail remains for pedestrians to travel on.
In 1919, the University Bridge opened next to my block. A result of the rising pressures for personal mobility, it allowed cars to populate the University District (Freund). Throughout the 20th century, newspapers complained of congestion (Seattle Municipal News). The bridge has been maintained through the years, with the approach and pavement having been replaced. As a result, much of the equipment needed to maintain the bridge over the years has been operated from my site. Although it was once used as an area of service, it has been altered over the years.
Originally, my block had been zoned as a General Commercial zone, and had been split into 3 or 4 plots of land. From images of the block taken from Terry Hall, the area appeared to have been populated by small homes and dirt roads for a good part of the 1900s. The lots have since been aggregated, and now exists as a single apartment complex: the Mercer Court apartments, owned by the University of Washington. Today, this land is inhabited by students of the University.
From my block today, it is possible to see the remnants of the past through the Burke Gilman trail and the university bridge. A common theme of my block is that it has been a junction for transit — involved in both rail and car transportation.
Maps that I found in the UW Special Collections in Allen Hall.
A Kroll Map from 1912.
A Kroll Map from 1920.
A Map of Seattle from 1905, cropped.
Primary sources that I found through the Special Collections search.
