Site Report 2- Environment

Map showing block 64 created in 1908 by G.W. Baist.  Seattle, WA.  

Photo showing how much natural land has been maintained even throughout urban development, taken by Kevin Serna on 01-30-2017.  NE 12th St, University District, Seattle, WA.  

Topographical map of the Seattle are, created May 1909 by topographer R.H. McKee.  

Photo showing how sidewalks were built below the houses.  Taken by Kevin Serna, 01-30-2017.  University District, Seattle, WA.  

The land on my block is fairly even; when you walk along the streets, it doesn’t feel like you’re walking up and down huge hills.  However, in looking at topographical maps of Seattle, it is obvious that there were once a lot of hills and trees around.  I learned in doing research that topographical maps of Seattle weren’t as important as, say, Alaska, because people were travelling there to look for gold.  And since we didn’t have gold around here, people didn’t create too many maps until they were ready to settle here. 

I found a map of the blocks around the University District from 1908, showing that at that time, there weren’t many houses built yet.  That is why some of the houses look so much older than others on my block. 

What I did notice while walking around my block and taking pictures is that the houses are elevated, and higher than the sidewalk.  This is further proof that there were once a lot of hills.  They most likely had to dig below ground level to build roads that were more even.  You can see in one of the photos how the houses are relatively high above the sidewalk. 

There are also a lot of trees in my neighborhood, and because they are so tall and have large, thick trunks, it appears that they have been there since before the houses.  Some of the trees have grown up past the electrical lines, and some have even had branches cut down because they were interfering with the power lines as well as the houses around.  These probably became a hazard in case a storm knocked the branches into someone’s house.  However, it is clear that Seattle in general is intent on keeping the natural land as much as possible because there are cracks in the sidewalk where the roots had broken through, and yet the trees haven’t been removed. 

Finding primary documents on the environmental history of my block was difficult since it is all residential and I had a hard time finding where to start.  I was able to find secondary articles about some of the older buildings but I hope to continue my research and find more articles, maps, and other documents.