Columbia City

Maroon, auburn, and brown line the streets of Columbia City, as the clouds move closer in to kiss the top of brick buildings. Made up of a few blocks of South Seattle, its turn-of-the-century warmth are apart of memories for many who call this neighborhood home. Autumn feels right here, feels like it belongs to the storefronts and side streets. Nestled in the middle of Rainier Valley, Columbia City’s charming atmosphere is eclectic, entertaining, and has just about anything for anyone.



Strolling along this part of Rainier Avenue makes you forget about the sirens of First Hill, the congestion of I-5, and the hustle and bustle of Downtown. Entering Columbia City is like stepping into a time warp, where people smile a little bit more and seem proud of the community they have created.



History

Founded in January 1893 and annexed into the city of Seattle in 1907, Columbia City has seen the best of times, and the worst of times. As a booming logging and railroad town, the business district was built in the early 1900s, and by the 1930s Columbia City had entered a period of gradual decline. The business district suffered from neglect, and deterioration until the 1970’s when residents decided to take action.

Columbia City Development Association led the charge for change helping with the designation of historic district in 1978, along with an initiative to improve the look and feel of the street scape. Since then several community led groups have worked to keep the neighborhood pedestrian, family, and diversity friendly.



Looking out over what Rainier Valley was, and has become the Columbia City Library is a fixture of the neighborhood. A major renovation in 2003 expanded the library, and its collection after voters decided in 1998 that Seattle deserved better libraries. Now with over 12,000 square feet, the expanded branch has collections in many different languages and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Change is A'Comin

Of the groups, Columbia City Revitalization Committee since 1995 has been responsible for some of the most prevalent and popular community events, the Farmers’ Market and BeatWalk.

BeatWalk is a unique music event in which local artists are invited to play in the storefronts of Columbia City. For five dollars, you can pay for a BeatWalk pass, and visit multiple businesses turned music venue. The last BeatWalk of the season will be December 5, 2008.

The Columbia City Farmers' Market is a member of the Neighborhood Farmers' Market Alliance that also supports markets in the U-District, Broadway, and Lake City. The Farmers' Market which is now closed for the season helps spotlight great community restaurants, and local growers. Founded in 1998, the market is a colorful piece of the community, but come 2010 it could be homeless.

According to the Neighborhood Farmers' Market Alliance website, HAL real estate developing has purchased the Columbia Plaza, currently the home to the Columbia City Farmers' Market, and will give CCFM until 2010 or 2011 "to work out a solution". Plans for the space include building " apartments or condos above street level retail stores".

Community members have responded by forming The Friends of the Columbia City Farmers Market which is "a group of market staff, neighbors, market supporters and others who have been meeting regularly to work on this issue for the past year and a half, investigating numerous alternate locations for the market."

A Community on the Web

As a part of a pilot program created by mayor Greg Nichols, Columbia City is a free wireless Internet hotspot. The goal of the project is to attract more customers to business districts, support small businesses, and to encourage the use of public parks and facilities.

The community has taken advantage of the free Internet by starting an online forum of community concerns, events, and general information. The Rainier Valley Post is a blog for and by concerned citizens of Rainier Valley. Run like a small newspaper, the page editor and staff writers take pitches and stories from people in the community, investigate, and report them.

This and other community based websites for the neighborhood of Columbia City has transformed public discourse. Whether the topic is the new auditoriums in the Columbia City Cinema or a health problem in the local Safeway, citizens have tools like the Columbia citizens wiki and Captain Columbia City to share opinions and receive feedback.



Restaurant Row

A food lover’s dream is tucked amongst the shops and restaurants on Rainier Avenue. Columbia City Bakery's neon sign reads “ bakery”, which mirrors its status in the neighborhood. This bakery isn't about frills and catchy marketing, and as one of the last coffeehouses still serving True North Coffee it is a dying breed. Whether you choose to sit inside amongst the rustle of espresso tamping or outside where leaves the size of notebook paper fall carelessly about the sidewalk, you will be experiencing a little bit of Columbia City culture.

Sitting sweetly across the street from the bakery is Geraldine’s Counter, a diner inspired restaurant that serves a mean brunch anytime of day. With a sister restaurant on Capitol Hill, Geraldine’s Counter was packed from door to window the Saturday morning I decided to venture through door. I quickly swept away by one of the waiters to a table, and served a fair sized mug of Caffe Vita coffee.

With my personal kryptonite being a bad cup of coffee, I was pleased with a familiar name and familiar quality. I chose the biscuits and gravy, and although the gravy did not have that southern “yum” factor I’m used to and the hash browns lacked the crispness of fresh starch and butter, the local art on the walls was a true palette saver.

You don’t have to walk far between breakfast and lunch in Columbia City, but one place especially is worth the trip. Jones’ Barbecue is a Seattle institution, and on those early days of fall after the barbecue pit has been packed away, fret not because Jones has rib tips just the way you remember them. With a special sauce featured on the Food Network show “ Great Northwest BBQ”, Jones has received national notoriety that we in Seattle can taste first hand.


The Art of Entertaining

For those of us who don’t reside in Columbia City, the biggest draw might just be its Arts community. Without the nightlife of major hitters like Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill, Columbia City emphasizes family friendly entertainment options.



Columbia City Cinema brings the movie business back down to earth. Since expanding the current auditorium to three screens, people are raving about more first run screenings. CCC offered various memberships to help raise money for the project. With ticket prices well below that of its downtown rivals ($8 for general admission, and $6 for matinee) CCC is well worth the trip.

Columbia City Gallery,founded in 1999, is a “ artist cooperative where artists belong as members and work” said mosaic artist, Dianne Bradley. The gallery currently has three exhibits Arts, Adornments, and Artiques made by local artists.“ [This community] is creative, responsive, and a source of energy for artists,” said Bradley. This holiday specific collection is running from November 12 to January 18,2009.

This neighborhood might know about food, but they kept a rhythm over the years with music at Columbia City Theatre. Chris Cottingham, owner of Columbia City Theatre said that since moving in four years ago he has “fallen in love with Columbia City”. And by the looks of the theatre who wouldn’t fall in love with the last remaining Vaudeville style theatre in Seattle. Built in 1919, Columbia City Theatre has seen its fair share of the Seattle music scene over the decades.

With acts ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Smashing Pumpkins, the stage if you can imagine is like a window into the past, and Cottingham hopes a window into the future. “My hope for Columbia City Theatre is that it will be the lighthouse for Seattle to once again become a music mecca,” said Cottingham.

Columbia City is a true diamond in the rough, and is surrounded by a community that understands and values diversity. From restaurants to art galleries, Columbia City is an up and coming Seattle neighborhood that is honest about staying grounded and in touch with the community.

Capitol Hill

So, now you have decided to move to Capitol Hill, or are at least visiting the often-notorious Seattle neighborhood. You’ve laced up your bright new pair of Chuck Taylor’s, tied that multi-colored scarf around your neck, and shimmied your way into those jeans that looked tight on the legless mannequin. A new copy of The Stranger tucked neatly into your Timbuk2 bag as you hop off the 49 or the 8 or the 9.

Now what?

The thundering corner of Broadway Avenue and Pike Street, the cars honking and refusing to yield, the pedestrians swarming the crosswalk even at the advice of a throbbing “ red-hand”. A cold sweat builds up on the nape of your neck, and your heartbeat slows as the energy of the hill bores through the rubber soles of your shoes. There is no time to stand frozen in the shock and excitement of the city, snapping back to reality as Seattle Central students shove pass you to make their next lecture.

To avoid looking like a tourist (why else would you be wearing that scarf) walk casually by the statue of Jimi Hendrix that is located in front of the new Everyday Music. Admire it, he was legend, but don’t linger, hang on to him, or take pictures sitting on his guitar.

Instead take a stroll into Everyday Music, an entertainment mega-store minus the censorship, and ridiculous prices. The scuffed C.D. and D.V.D case is the best thing since Velcro, and you never know what you might find.

Any long time “ Cap Hiller” will tell you that the face of Broadway has changed. Salons, cafés, restaurants, and boutiques gave Broadway Avenue its character. They embraced the lifestyle of the people on the Hill, from the hipsters to the drag queens and everyone in between. These businesses are gone, relocated, or no longer in existence, and have been replaced by something unlikely.

Continuing you trek further south on Broadway you might be surprised at what you see in several store windows. Don’t feel embarrassed if your natural instinct is to stare, it is art by the way.

The exhibition is known as STart on Broadway, a part of the Sound Transit public art program, curated by former artist-in-residence Christian French.

STart on Broadway occupies the hollow storefronts that were purchased by Sound Transit in order to build the Link light rail under Broadway. With demolition set to begin next month, the installations are an attempt at “beautifying the neighborhood”.

According to Sound Transit website, artists were asked to create work that “would reflect the spirit of Capitol Hill, keep the streetscape active and engage the public as they traveled through the two-block stretch of Broadway both during the day and at night”.

The art installations occupy 18 storefronts, and can be found from E. Howell St. to E. John St along Broadway Ave S. The exhibit will be running until October 31, and many residents are concerned with the long journey that will follow.

Sound Transit’s University Link Light Rail will be an underground light rail system that stretches the 3.15 miles from Downtown Seattle to the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium. This $ 1.9 billion is expected to open in 2016, and change the way people and life moves in Seattle.

According to Jeff Munnoch, Community Outreach Specialist for the project Capitol Hill residents will experience “a three block site fenced in with a plywood wall and bore machines placed underground… they won’t be able to hear, see, or feel the construction”.

As a fully functional part of the Sound Transit and Seattle Metro systems, fares will mirror those of buses, whatever that might be in 8 years.

For the environmentally conscious, the light rail runs on electricity. Making it a quieter, and more fuel-efficient way to get around.

In 2030, a projected 14,000 riders will board the University Link Light at the Capitol Hill station each day. Munnoch goes on to say, “ I have heard a lot of optimism [from residents] about the project.

The slow and obscure reality of the link light is that for the next eight years this plywood wall will be what people on Capitol Hill have to look forward to. In the accounting of everyday life, do the profits outweigh the costs?

So, you’ve been cultured, great. As the sun heads to bed early these days, Capitol Hill comes alive earlier and earlier with or without construction. Don’t worry; Capitol Hill wouldn’t be complete without a string of amazing places to eat.

If you are lucky enough to have been born before today’s date 1987, congratulations you have hit the jackpot on the chillest hangouts on the hill, the bars. If you can’t drink without music head over to Neighbours, the infamous gay and lesbian club, or get kind of artsy at Grey Gallery and Lounge. If you are in search of the land of wheat and barley, head over to the Elysian for food and enough beer to make St. Pauli’s Girl jealous.

For those of us, who are still counting down to the big two one, I’d suggest you check out 15th Avenue. Sure it’s a hike, but haven’t you ever heard of a gluteus maximus. Palermo is an Italian extraordinaire, and has every kind of pasta, pizza, and calzone you could think of. If you are a fan of breakfast/brunch 22 doors is a showstopper, or if seafood sounds to die for head up to Coastal Kitchen.

Whatever you crave 15th Avenue has got it plus a little a small town flare if you are missing home already.

Capitol Hill will test your senses, your sense of style, your sense of taste, and your sense of beauty. Sure the concrete of the sidewalk crumbles beneath your feet causing you to trip at least twice a day, but for those who call this neighborhood home its all apart of our street “cred” and gives us a sense of self.

For more information on the Capitol Hill Station.

Sound Transit University Link Light Open House
Capitol Hill Station

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

5:30 P.M to 8:00 P.M.

Seattle Central Community College

Lecture Hall- Room 4106

1710 Broadway Ave.