Capitol Hill, Seattle, Washington
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Capitol Hill is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. The origin of its name is disputed. According to one story, James A. Moore, the real estate developer who platted much of the area, named it thus in the hope that the Washington state government would move to Seattle from Olympia. According to another, Moore named it after the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, his wife's hometown. It is thought by the editors of HistoryLink (http://www.historylink.org) that the true story is a combination of the two.
Prior to Moore's naming it so in 1901, Capitol Hill was known as Broadway Hill.
It is bounded by Interstate 5 to the west, beyond which are Downtown, Cascade, and Eastlake; by Washington State Route 520 and Interlaken Park to the north, beyond which is Montlake; by E. Pike and E. Madison Streets to the south, beyond which are First Hill and the Central District; and by 23rd and 24th Avenues E. to the east, beyond which is Madison Valley.
Its main thoroughfares are Lakeview Boulevard E.; Bellevue, 10th, 12th, 15th, and 19th Avenues E.; and Broadway (north- and southbound) and E. Pine, E. Pike, E. John, E. Thomas, and E. Aloha Streets and E. Olive Way (east- and westbound).
The highest point on Capitol Hill, at 444.5 feet above sea level, is in Volunteer Park, adjacent to the water tower. Capitol Hill is also responsible for half of Seattle's 12 steepest street grades: 21% on E. Roy Street between 25th and 26th Avenues E. (western slope), 19% on E. Boston Street between Harvard Avenue E. and Broadway E. (western slope) and on E. Ward Street between 25th and 26th Avenues E. (eastern slope), and 18% on E. Highland Drive between 24th and 25th Avenues E. (eastern slope), on E. Lee Street between 24th and 25th Avenues E. (eastern slope), and on E. Roy Street between Melrose and Bellevue Avenues E. (western slope).
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Ambience
Capitol Hill figures prominently enough in Seattle's collective consciousness that even in hilly Seattle it is often referred to simply as "the Hill".
Since about 1980, Capitol Hill has had a reputation as the center of gay life in Seattle, although it has never been as exclusively gay as The Castro in San Francisco or Davie Village in Vancouver, British Columbia. It also has a reputation as the heart of "hip" Seattle, and was the neighborhood most closely associated with the grunge scene, although most of the best-known music venues of that era were actually located slightly outside the neighborhood.
Most of the Hill's major thoroughfares are dotted with coffeehouses, taverns and bars, as well as numerous retail stores, boutiques, and (along E. Pike and E. Pine Streets) a few art galleries. Residences cover the gamut from modest motel-like studio apartment buildings to some of the city's grandest and most venerable mansions, with the two extremes sometimes cheek-by-jowl.
The neighborhood figures prominently in nightlife and entertainment, with many bars hosting live music and with numerous fringe theaters. Capitol Hill is also home to two of the city's best-known movie theaters, both of them architectural conversions of private meeting halls: the Harvard Exit, in the former home of the Women's Century Club (converted in the early 1970s) and the Egyptian Theater, in a former Masonic lodge (converted in the mid-1980s). The Broadway Performance Hall, part of Seattle Central Community College, also hosts a variety of lectures, performances, and films.
Landmarks and institutions
- Cal Anderson Park
- Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery
- Lake View Cemetery
- Roanoke Park
- St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral
- Seattle Asian Art Museum
- Seattle Central Community College
- Seattle Preparatory School
- Volunteer Park
Bars and Clubs
- Linda's
- Chop Suey
- Baltic Room
- Barca
- Cha cha lounge
- Capitol Club
- CC Attle
- The Crescent
- The Cuff Complex
- Madison Pub
- Manray
- Neighbors
- R Place
- Seattle Eagle
- Thumper's
- Wild Rose
External links
- Capitol Hill (http://seattlewiki.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill) on SeattleWiki