Site Report #3

Map of Wilkes shows how the area was covered in trees aroudn 1845.

Site Report #3: The Audio Tour

Throughout time this block has changed drastically, going from a natural landscape to an area filled with concrete and brick buildings. In 1845, the block was completely covered in trees but by the 1890s, all the timber was cut down to be used and the land was cleared and ready to be inhabited. Around this time the University of Washington was moved to its current location from downtown Seattle. This relocation created a need for new residential areas and thus homes were built on this block to be used by students and/ or professors attending the University. By 1905, there were approximately eleven homes built with a simple wooden structure on the block.

As time went on and the city grew, people looked for homes further away from the chaos and thus started the trend of commuting. As a result, there was a need for cars. In 1924, an automobile dealership, called the Howard Motor Company, opened on the north end of the block. With the addition of this motor company, one can assume that the workers at this company lived nearby and even possible on the block itself, creating more residential buildings in the area. By 1942, the block was occupied by this business and about twenty-three residential buildings, including one apartment complex, which served as homes to the UW community.

As the population grew, more homes turned into apartment buildings allowing a higher volume of people to live in the block. Then as the establishment and use of more public transportation grew, Howard Motor Company closed its doors and different business took up shop in the large building. Today the building is inhabited by a Petco and an Art Supplies store while the rest of the block is made up of five apartment buildings and about eleven homes being used by the community of the University of Washington.

Audio Tour: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzbW4NCPFBnPTU80ZllIXzNOUTQ/view?usp=sharing