Site Report #1

Hand-drawn diagram of the block. University District (Seattle, WA.). Drawn on January 20, 2017. David Kook.

Beyond NE 47^th St., lies a noticeably quieter aspect of the University District. These appear to be more residential with quieter streets, less restaurants, and more grocery markets. The block that I chose, between University Way NE and 15^th Ave NE and NE 55^th St. and NE 56^th St., is markedly distinct from the blocks before it. Clustered with apartments, my block mainly serves as a residential location. In this tiny space, there are seven apartment units huddled together, each stacked with three to four floors. Although that might not be much compared to other blocks, the spacing between the buildings was surprising. The buildings are far enough for one to quickly assume that the two apartments have different landowners, but too close to offer residents any kind of privacy from their neighbors. In between these apartments on University Way and 15^th Ave. is an alley. 

Pizza Pi, a vegan restaurant, below a dilapidated apartment. University District (Seattle, WA). January 12, 2017. David Kook.

 

An apartment building for lease which looks like it may have once been a church or community center. University District (Seattle, WA). January 12, 2017. David Kook.

What was most interesting was the home above the lone vegan pizza restaurant. It was hard to determine whether the second floor to the restaurant was available for renters or owned by the restaurateurs. The exterior condition of the building, however, is terrible. The paint is badly fading and some windows are missing. Yet, the rooms seemed occupied. The apartments facing 15^th Ave. NE were much cleaner and modern. Between the apartments on 15^th Ave. is a building with colored windows that might’ve once been a community center or a church.

While the side facing 15^th Ave. NE are all living spaces, the buildings on University Way NE has slight variation. Next to the pizza restaurant is a pipe and smoke shop and next to that is an improv location, Jet City Improv. The building adjacent to the improv center is ambiguous. It seemed to have been a bar or a restaurant, but the doors are barred and the building appeared unused for a while. 

Community garden shared by residents of the block. University District (Seattle, WA). January 12, 2017. David Kook.

The block, however, has an apparent community atmosphere. There is a shared, community garden on University Way NE. All the apartments have similar wear, which may suggest that they were built around the same time.

After surveying my block, there are a few things I would like to research. Was this block predominantly residential and if not, what kind of businesses were here? Why is the unit above Pizza Pi more dilapidated than surrounding buildings? What kind of people lived in this area?

My block lacked a few things as a purely residential area. First, it didn’t have a playground or a park. The block is understandably small, but the proximity to a private school suggests that there are families nearby. In addition, it didn’t have many street lights as one would expect from a neighborhood. The apartments facing both 15^th Ave. NE and University Way NE are dimly lit. I also thought the block lacked more stores and restaurants, which would’ve been lucrative in a college community. I’ll need to look at past maps to first see how buildings on the block were situated. If the placements were similar, it might propose that there was simply no space for additional businesses and community infrastructure. Past photographs of the block will also help significantly by giving visuals on what the block looked like before.