Site Report #3: The Audio Tour
This picture provides a key to what was surrounding my block druing the 19th century. According to the key there was nothing there but open land.
This is a picture druing the late 19th century and early 20th century of University Avenue. There were many shops that are comparable to todays shops, such as coffee shops. However, shops found today cater towards students much more.
This is a picture of the living situations during the 20th century around my block. These were apartments for anyone to live in. Now, there is a dorm on my block that is dedicated to just students.
When walking down my block I see a lot of different things. There are many buildings such as accounting buildings, school buildings and also police buildings. These complexes didn’t appear out of the ordinary, they are here for a reason. According to images found near 1850, most of the area surrounding this block was open for any use. There was nothing in this area that was specifically meant for something beforehand and there were not many trees that needed to be chopped down. This ultimately paved the way for people to live and enjoy College in a more unique way.
According to a key found from a 19th century map, most of my block was covered by vacant developments. This was very convenient for people who accompanied this area during the early 19th century because there was not as much work to do as other places.
Later, this block was apart of the Burke Gillman trail. This trail was unlike anything that had happened back in these times and it was the only known trail around the University District. This trail originated in 1885, however, it did not become part of the Burlington Northern Railroad until 1970. People knew a lot about this trail, but it was not until later before it became common in the University District.
In addition, during this time there were a lot of middle class workers in the early in the 20th century who worked in small shops that are similar to the ones found in todays 39th block. If you look at University Avenue several hundred years ago, there were many coffee shops that people would go to. People tend to want to compare life one hundred years ago to life right now, but it is too difficult to compare the two. They have some similarities but overall, life was much different.
The main attraction to my block is Lander Hall. This dorm is very new and it is connected to Judge Edward Lander who was an important figure to the University of Washington during the late 19th century. A Lander building has been in place since the 20th century and the University has just remodeled the building into the current Lander Hall as of 2012. Throughout the 21st century, this block has advanced its buildings greatly. They have formed many coffee shops and important business locations that make this area suitable for both students and working class citizens.
There have been many changes to my block over the last couple hundred years and it is mainly attributed to the student life. With the exception of buildings such as the purchasing and accounting building, everything on my block caters towards students.