University District, Seattle, Washington
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Image:Seattle Map - University District.png The University District is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because the main campus of the University of Washington is located there. It is bounded on the west by Interstate 5, beyond which is Wallingford; on the east by the Burke-Gilman Trail and Ravenna Avenue N.E., beyond which is University Village; on the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal, across which are Eastlake and Montlake; and on the north by N.E. Ravenna Boulevard, beyond which are Roosevelt and Ravenna. Its main commercial street, University Way N.E., is known locally as "The Ave."
The U-District was first surveyed in 1855, and its first white settlers arrived 12 years later. In 1890, that part of the neighborhood due west of the present UW campus was laid out as the Brooklyn addition. One year later much of the land north of the Ship Canal, including Brooklyn, was annexed to Seattle, and the first university building appeared in 1895.
The name "Brooklyn" began to fade soon thereafter. Electric trolley tracks had been laid up Columbus Avenue (later 14th Avenue) in 1892, and the neighborhood soon began to be called "University Station" after the stop at the corner of what is now N.E. 42nd Street. The name is not lost, however, for Brooklyn Avenue N.E. runs parallel to University Way, one block west.
As a result of a contest held by the University Commercial Club in 1919, 14th Avenue (by then already known as "The Avenue" or "The Ave.") was renamed University Way, and the neighborhood was renamed the University District. The neighborhood's main thoroughfares are Roosevelt and University Ways and 11th, Brooklyn, 15th, and 20th Avenues N.E. (north- and southbound), and N.E. Pacific, 45th, and 50th Streets (east- and westbound).
The neighborhood's primary landmark (other than the UW campus) and its tallest building is Safeco Plaza, the headquarters building of Safeco Corporation, located at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue N.E. and N.E. 45th Street. Built in 1973, it is 22 stories high and is the city's tallest building outside Downtown.
In recent years, the University District has suffered commercial decline, due at least in part to the popularity of the University Village shopping center east of campus. From 2002 to 2004, the city attempted to counter this trend by giving the Ave. a facelift, including the addition of benches and bus bulbs. The addition of benches represented the reversal of a decades-long neighborhood trend away from providing free places to sit.
Image:Udistrict1.jpg The local year-round homeless population, referred to as "Ave. rats," is notorious around Seattle for being a particularly young and counterculture crowd. It is not uncommon to have change demanded rather than requested. Many of them are victims of abuse and addicted to narcotics, particularly cocaine and methamphetamine. They commonly cluster in groups all along the Ave., buying and selling marijuana and doing hard drugs in the alleys. Their numbers have dwindled in recent years due to increased police patrols and tougher enforcement of loitering laws.
Another factor contributing to the Ave. rats' decline was the extension of organized, gang-related criminal activity on the Avenue in recent years. Several groups, of whose signature "tags" can be seen throughout the U-District, contributed to the transition in drug sales from marijuana (formerly sold by Ave. rats and transients) to the organized sale of methamphetamine and cocaine. This transition has resulted in multiple incidents of gun-related violence, as well as obvious deals occurring in broad daylight. Regular visitors to the Ave. can often recognize the same individuals standing at or "patrolling" the same areas, day after day. The obviousness of this flagrant dealing of hard drugs in recent years is probably a major factor in the decline in business sales on the University Avenue.
Due to the size of the UW Greek system, fraternity and sorority members make up a large portion of the local bars' clientele, especially such establishments like Earl's and Tommy's. Other bars have a wider base of patrons, including the College Inn and the Irish Emigrant. The University District is home to all of the UW's fraternity and sorority houses, most of them clustered along 17th Avenue N.E. between N.E. 45th and 50th Streets ("Frat Row"). On Thursday (many Greek parties are held on Thursdays to deter high-schoolers) and Friday nights, it is not uncommon for parties to spill out into the local streets within the area. This reputation draws many crashers, and most of the recent instances of gun violence at UW student parties have been due to party crashers getting ejected.