Street layout of Seattle
|
|
The street layout of Seattle is based on the grid pattern.
Most streets in Seattle run either north-south or east-west, except in that part of the city bounded by Elliott Bay on the west, Yesler Way on the south, Denny Way on the north, and Broadway on the east, which encompasses all of Downtown, Belltown, and the Denny Regrade and parts of Pioneer Square and First Hill. The grid is oriented 32 degrees west of north from Yesler Way north to Stewart Street from Alaskan Way east to 3rd Avenue, Olive Way from 3rd Avenue east to 7th Avenue, and to Howell Street from 7th Avenue east to Denny Way. North of there, but south of Denny Way, the grid is oriented 49 degrees west of north.
This pattern is the result of a disagreement between David Swinson "Doc" Maynard, whose land claim lay south of Yesler Way, and Arthur A. Denny and Carson D. Boren, whose land claims lay to the north: Maynard favored a grid based on the cardinal directions, while Denny and Boren preferred that their streets follow the Elliott Bay shoreline. Denny and Boren prevailed in what would become the central business district, but it was Maynard's grid that ended up being extended throughout the city. In fact, the grid continues out into most of unincorporated King County. Even many incorporated cities around Seattle use the same system, at least in part, including all the cities south of Seattle and west of Kent, plus Bellevue, Redmond, Shoreline and Kirkland.
Directionals (e.g., N., S.W.) are systematized in Seattle, as are, to a lesser degree, street types (e.g., avenue, street). As a rule, only streets that run more or less east-west (or, in the central business district, northeast-southwest) can be called "street," and only streets that run more or less north-south (or, in the central business district, northwest-southeast) can be called "avenue." However, a "road," "boulevard," "way," or thoroughfare with any other type designation may run in any direction.
Seattle is divided into ten sections for the purpose of determining which directionals are to be used.
- "streets" and other east-west thoroughfares are prefixed by the directional
- "avenues" and other north-south thoroughfares are suffixed by the directional
- with a few exceptions, the same directional is used as both prefix and suffix within each section.
North of the Lake Washington Ship Canal are the following sections: west of 1st Avenue N.W., the N.W. section; between 1st Avenue N.W. and 1st Avenue N.E., the N. section; east of 1st Avenue N.E., the N.E. section.
South of the canal but north of Denny Way are the following sections: west of Queen Anne Avenue N., the W. section; between Queen Anne Avenue N. and Eastlake Avenue E., a section in which avenues are suffixed N. and in which streets have no prefix; east of Eastlake Avenue E., the E. section.
South of Denny Way but north of Yesler Way are two sections: east of Broadway from Yesler Way north to Union Street, north of Union Street from Broadway west to Minor Avenue, east of Minor Avenue from Union Street north to Pike Street, and east of Melrose Avenue from Pike Street north to Denny Way, streets are prefixed E. and avenues have no suffix; to the west this border, no directionals are used.
South of Yesler Way are two sections: east of the waterfront and, further south, 1st Avenue S., the S. section; and west of 1st Avenue S., the S.W. section. There is no S.E. section within the Seattle city limits. However, there is a southeast section outside of Seattle, which encompasses all of Mercer Island, parts of Renton and Bellevue, and other locations within the county.
The twelve streets in the central business district are named as six alphabetic pairs (south to north): Jefferson/James, Cherry/Columbia, Marion/Madison, Spring/Seneca, University/Union, Pike/Pine. One way to remember the order of the streets is with the mnemonic "Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest."
Only one street, Madison Street, runs uninterrupted from the salt water of Puget Sound in the west to the fresh water of Lake Washington in the east. No street, excluding Interstate 5 and Washington State Route 99—both freeways in whole or in part—runs without interruption from the northern to the southern city limits. This is largely the result of Seattle's topography. Split by the Duwamish River and the Lake Washington Ship Canal, containing four lakes within the city limits, and boasting deep ravines and at least seven hills (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/seattle_history/articles/covermap11.html), there are few more-or-less straight routes where such a road could reasonably be built, even allowing for the short bridge or two.
See Seattle neighborhoods for articles on individual neighborhoods, including information on major thoroughfares.
See also
External links
- City of Seattle Street Classification Maps (http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/streetclassmaps.htm)