Site Report #1: The Deep Read
University License Agency on Roosevelt. (Seattle, WA) Taken on 1/12/17.
Savatdee, Thai and Laos restaurant on Roosevelt and 58th.
Hand drawn map of Block 50
The block between Roosevelt and 11th Ave and 56th and 59th st. is an interesting combination of both University living and Seattle automobile retail. The block produces two separate tones that can be seen throughout the city and although Seattle may be considered an extremely urban area because of its dense population and prominent city vibes, Seattle also has complementing suburban qualities. I noticed these suburban esque qualities on my block and I believe they give the area a small comfortable town feel as opposed to the more realistic busy and bustling city tone. For example in terms of suburban aspects, there is only one lane of traffic going in each direction on my block, which suggests small town, light traffic scenarios, however the far parking lanes are also used during high traffic. This may seem insignificant but the suburban atmosphere is maintained on a daily basis, while also accommodating the heavy flow of people thru the neighborhood during commutes. This almost unnoticeable trait left a residual thought in my own mind and most likely has in others who live on the block.
Arriving at my block I noticed immediately the fairly obvious divide between the two sides of the street. While one side is entirely residential, except for a single set of stores on the crossstreet of Roosevelt and 59th street, the opposite side consists solely of automobile related retail and shops. There are only two other shops on my entire block that are unrelated to automobiles, a Thai and Laos eatery and a small coffee shop, named Cafe Racer across the street from the Thai restaurant. Although my block is simply a small fragment of the entire Roosevelt Way, it seemed as if the block was missing student based retail and amenities that thrive particularly well in the U-District. Cafe Racer seemed to be the only shop with in view of the block that had any customers moving in and out of the store the entire time I was at my block.
The residential side of the block is made up of mostly houses and large apartment complexes similar to those scattered across the U-district purposed for college student living. At first glance the street may seem like a typical U-district block developed mainly for compact and efficient housing to service college students but the overhaul of car dealerships, licensing and mechanic stores present on Roosevelt must be a symptom of another purpose. I am assuming that this section of the block at one point in time, most likely when there were more lanes in the road or possibly less roads in general, witnessed more traffic than it receives currently, which would suggest an explanation for all of the automobile services.
Most of the shops on the block have only been around for 40 years or less so at one point there was a general shift in retail on the block in the 1970s. What kind of stores were here before? What kinds of buildings occupied the area before the University grew into the block and what kinds of people could be found here?