Site Report 3
Seattle Neighborhoods: University District — Thumbnail History. Paul Dorpat. June 18, 2011.
Student Enrollment: 1960s. University of Washington.
Block 48 audio tour. Produced by Michelle Kang.
Today’s metropolitan Seattle was first inhabited by the Native American Duwamish tribe from 8,000 BCE to 10,000 years ago (Dailey). The forestry and surrounding waters provided them with an abundant life. The Duwamish tribe maintained gaps in the forest for pass time games and food supplies. The Denny Party, an American pioneer group lead my Arthur Denny, arrived in this area in November 1851 (Dorpat). Arthur Denny is one of the first founders of Seattle, Washington. He was also known as the city’s wealthiest citizen, owning the majority of the land of Seattle. Arthur Denny is also one of the founders of the University of Washington, in which he donated much of his land for the school. In 1853, president Millard Fillmore signed a bill to establish the Territory of Washington, present day Seattle (Wiki). The Washington Territory existed from March 1853 to November 1889. Isaac Stevens served as the first governor of Washington Territory from 1853 to 1857 (Dorpat). He compelled the Native American tribes by intimidating them and forcing them to sign treaties that ceded their lands to the American government (Dailey). In early settlement, the Washington Territory was mostly clear cut forests and stump farmlands. Later in 1887, the first railroad system in Washington was completed (Dorpat).
With the recommendation of the establishment of a university from governor Isaac Stevens in 1854, The Territorial University of Washington was founded in 1861 (Dorpat). The school faced many difficulties, closing three times: in 1863, 1867, and 1876 due to lack of students or shortage of funds. Then finally in 1889, the university’s enrollment increased by ten times its initial enrollment. In result, the university relocated to present day University of Washington in 1895. Three years prior to the relocation, an electric trolley track had been established. This neighborhood was called “University Station”. The neighborhood was renamed the University District in 1919 (Dorpat).
The development of the University District rapidly happened after the Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909 (Dorpat). The Exposition was seeking for a large undeveloped campus for the world fair. In exchange of allowing the Exposition to take place on the University of Washington campus, the university took advantage of the development of the campus after the conclusion of the fair (Wiki). The self-sufficient U. District began to grow in the 1900s. During the “golden age” of the university, student enrollment tremendously increased, as well as facilities, operating budgets, and prestige. From 1958 to 1973, the enrollment at the university more than doubled (Dorpat). This was also when the baby boom generation came of age. University Way quickly became a cosmopolitan commercial strip with stores, restaurants, churches, and theaters. It was called a “city within a city”.