by Kirby Lindsay, posted 23 December 2013
The Fremont Branch of the Seattle Public Library contains a wealth of resources, readily available to all visitors.
They offer educational presentations – like Story Time on Wednesdays, and the quarterly live poetry readings (next one on January 6th.) They have the expected books, DVDs and CDs, but also reference materials – including ones specific to Fremont.
While modest in size, the ‘Fremont shelf’ contains copies of writings about Fremont, mostly reports from civic studies conducted on Fremont over the last forty years.
‘Fremont Alternatives’
One report, ‘The Fremont Alternatives Report’, published July 1988 by the City of Seattle Office of Long-range Planning, studied the neighborhood and the potentials here. Done with input from more than two dozen residents and business owners, who served as an ‘Advisory Committee’, the report contains an interesting perspective on the potential of our neighborhood – twenty-five years ago.
It also contains a brief history of Fremont. Many of the reports give location and context, and this one does so with a history lesson that contains more details, and a slightly different perspective, than recent histories of Fremont have shared.
For that reason, a condensed version of that history is reprinted here for digital perusal. To see the original report, visit the Fremont Branch of the Seattle Public Library.
The History
“The Fremont neighborhood is located in the north central part of Seattle. Generally, the neighborhood is bounded on the north by North 50th Street, on the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal, on the west by Eighth Avenue Northwest and on the east by Stone Way North. The community occupies slightly less than one square mile in area, on a south and west facing slope. To the west is the Ballard neighborhood, to the east is Wallingford.
“The Fremont community came to life in 1885 from the forest and pasture lands of the north end. David Denny and Judge John P. Hoyt envisioned an independent township when they acquired and platted a 240-acre parcel on the north shore of Lake Union. However, this area, known as the Denny-Hoyt Addition, was still unnamed and largely undeveloped three years later when it was purchased by L.H. Griffith, E. Blewett and Dr. E.C. Kilbourne. Griffith and Blewett were recent arrivals from Fremont, Nebraska and chose the name for the new community to entice immigrants from their home state.
“Owing to its strategic location, the new settlement flourished. After an unsuccessful 1890 attempt to incorporate as the City of North Seattle, Fremont was incorporated into Seattle a year later. At that time the population of the neighborhood was 5,000. The extension of a new streetcar line from downtown Seattle across a newly constructed wooden floating bridge to Fremont placed the community at a crossroads of a new suburban transportation corridor to the north Seattle area.
“In 1917, both the Lake Washington Ship Canal and the new Fremont Bridge (which stands today) were completed, fostering further growth. The late 1920s marked the zenith of Fremont’s early development. With the onset of the Great Depression, the community’s economy withered. The most damaging depression-induced closure was that of the lumber mill, a key industrial component. Another significant impact was ironically intended to provide economic assistance. The 1932 completion of the Aurora Bridge created a significant physical scar through the economic and cultural heart of the community, a lasting wound which the neighborhood struggles to overcome to this day.
“After three somnolent decades, Fremont began to stir in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This renaissance of sorts was prompted by the influx of new residents who shared with the older citizens an appreciation for the area’s ‘funky’ eclecticism and charming, albeit faded, ambience. It was just this unlikely mix of new energy and old values which sparked a civic pride and neighborly involvement that has become the community’s hallmark.”
“Notable Features”
“…the neighborhood possesses several notable features. The 164-acre Woodland Park, one of Seattle’s largest, borders the northern edge of the community. The park, along with Ross Playground, offers open space, meadows and trees for the residents’ enjoyment. While also providing extensive recreational facilities and stunning views of the city, it also contains the nationally acclaimed Woodland Park Zoo.
“B.F. Day Elementary School, built in 1892, continues to provide for the educational needs of the neighborhood’s youngsters. According to Seattle Public School District records, B.F. Day is the oldest Seattle classroom building still in use. Furthermore, in the absence of a formal ‘civic’ structure, the historic building also provides a dignified setting for a variety of community activities.
“In 1916, following the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the Fremont drawbridge was also completed. Today the bridge serves not only as an important historic ‘gateway’ to the community but also as one of the two major north-south connections between Fremont and areas to the north, and downtown. The Ship Canal itself provides fishing and leisure time opportunities, and significantly contributes a pleasant aesthetic quality to the area. Parts of the canal remain as grassy, tree-lined enclaves adjacent to busy waterfront industry.
“The Fremont business district is enhanced by its varied collection of structures dating back to the community’s earliest days. Although refitted for contemporary uses, the buildings contribute to the historic ambience of the neighborhood and provide continuity between the area’s past and present. The Fremont Public Library, built from Carnegie Grant funds over 60 years ago, is a fine example of ‘California Mission’ style architecture. Designed in 1921 by D. Huntington, it is currently being remodeled and upgraded by the City and will reopen later this year.
“Just north and east of the business district, along North 36th Street, is a small collection of turn-of-the-century homes which typify the wide range of styles of the era. There are a number of architecturally significant historic homes scattered throughout the Fremont neighborhood, as well. At the corner of Stoneway North and North 34th Street one finds the Fremont Station. Although it is no longer in use, it serves as a reminder of days past when Fremont was an integral part of a greater rail network.
“When the George Washington Memorial Bridge opened in 1932, it was the tallest, longest vehicular span in the city, and remained so for over 30 years. The unique, monumental scale and style of this stately bridge, commonly known today as the Aurora Bridge, is still an engineering marvel. As it vaults from Fremont to Queen Anne it provides breathtaking vistas of the community below, much of the city and glimpses of the entire region from the Cascades to the Olympics.
“The People of Fremont”
“The 1980 census indicates a population of 9,454 for the Fremont Neighborhood. This represents approximately two percent of the city total. Of these 91 percent were Caucasian compared with the citywide average of 80 percent. Almost 10 percent of the Fremont population was under 15 years of age. The citywide figure is 14 percent. Sixteen and a half percent of the people were found to be 65 years of age and older, compared to 15 percent across the city. The median age for the community is 29.7 years, younger than the citywide average…”
More To Share
The ‘Fremont Alternatives Report,’ published by the City of Seattle, contains much more about this neighborhood – as it existed in 1988.
Stop by and visit the ‘Fremont Shelf’ sometime soon, and take a look at what it has to offer. The Seattle Public Library also has materials on Fremont, and other neighborhoods of our city, in the Seattle Room in the Downtown Central Branch, and on-line through the Seattle Neighborhood History Project.
For more information on resources available at the Fremont Branch, call 206/684-4084 – or stop by!
Related Articles
- Seattle Public Shares Fremont History
- by Kirby Lindsay, April 1, 2013
- Finding Fremont History at History House
- by Kirby Lindsay, August 26, 2013
©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.