View of the alley from 52nd Street. University District, Seattle, WA. Taken on January 12th, 2017. Photograph by Mina Liao.
Small apartment complexes on University Way. University District, Seattle, WA. Taken on January 12th, 2017. Photograph by Mina Liao.
A strip between complexes on University Way. University District, Seattle, WA. Taken on January 12th, 2017. Photograph by Mina Liao.
This block bordered by 52nd and 55th Streets, and Brooklyn Avenue and University Way is a diverse block that is comprised of small businesses, apartment buildings, and many residential homes. An alley perpendicular to 52nd and 55th Streets cuts across the center of the block, which appears to divide the block into two main areas of purpose. Because University Way is the “main street” to University District, it is almost entirely packed with small businesses and the University Way side of this block makes up the Northern end of the chain. In addition to the currently operating businesses, there are few vacant complexes and a small apartment building that lines the block on University Way. The Brooklyn Avenue side on the other hand, is strictly residential with the outer facing row consisting of all individual houses and a single apartment building being newly built. Each individual house is of rather a large build and covers most of the block between the main street and the alley. I was surprised to see the cleanliness of the alley as there were no signs of poor sanitation condition as I would have expected see. With very few additional housing crammed behind the main row of houses, the remaining space accessible through the alley seemed to be utilized as parking spaces for the residents. Because the alley has to be kept clear for cars, dumpsters were out on the sidewalk of 52nd Street instead of being tucked in behind the buildings. A similar pattern was seen on the other side of the block as spaces between buildings were used for parking space accessible from University Way, with some of them connecting to the alley. Considering that alleys originally came into existence to make way for more housing, questions are raised about when the alley came into existence, and whether or not it was created to accommodate for additional housing units at a much earlier time instead of for the purpose of its current use for parking spaces. I am also curious as to if this block always served as ground for both businesses and residential units. Upon inspecting the buildings of the block, all except for the two apartments seem to have been built at similar times and it is difficult to know what stood in the same places before. Another notable element about this block was the aged wooden posts that stood scattered throughout the perimeter of the block. Most of these posts hold electric lines while others serve as lamp posts. From this observation, I am left to wonder what kind of early urban technologies these wooden posts supported during its early days.
