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Georgetown, Seattle
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==History== [[Image:Seattle Georgetown Brewery 10.jpg|thumb|left|Stock House of the Georgetown brewery, now demolished]] Georgetown is arguably the oldest neighborhood of Seattle. Georgetown's first settlement was founded on September 27, 1851, when [[Luther Collins]], Henry Van Asselt, and the Maple family arrived with their household goods with the intention of farming the rich alluvial lands of the Duwamish delta.<ref name=HistoryLink>{{cite web|author=Greg Lange|url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=1750|title=Collins, Van Asselt, and Maple (or Mapel) select first Donation Land Claims in King County on September 16, 1851|publisher=HistoryLink.org|date=October 3, 2000|access-date=2011-09-13}}</ref> Although the [[Denny Party]] arrived at Alki Point two days prior to the Collins Party arrival, the Collins Party was able to complete permanent structures and build a successful farming community within a year. The Denny Party suffered in relative squalor in an unfinished cabin and encampment until their move in 1852 to the future downtown Seattle area. The Collins farm was located in the vicinity of the present-day First Avenue Bridge, running north to the vicinity of South Idaho Street, on the east bank of the Duwamish River. Farms in the Duwamish Valley supplied the lumber-based settlement in Seattle. Boatwrights set up shop along the Duwamish estuary as land was cleared for farming. Before land transport links with Seattle were established, the economic hub of the Duwamish was a boat landing at the approximate location of the South Lucille Street/East Marginal Way junction. In 1869 a Seattle saloon and brothel keeper rented a portion of the Collins homestead from Luther's widow Diana (Borst) Collins to run a horse track, making the area a destination for all sorts of manly fun. Developer Julius Horton, brother of Seattle banker Dexter Horton, purchased a portion of the Collins homestead in 1871 and began to [[plat]] the lots that would become the community of Georgetown.<ref name=HistoryLink2>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historylink.org/File/2975|title=Seattle Neighborhoods: Georgetown -- Thumbnail History}}</ref> The Duwamish community's transition towards a rail-centered economy began on March 7, 1877, with the first run on a new rail line between Steele's Landing on the Duwamish and coal mines in [[Renton, Washington|Renton]].<ref name=Lange>{{cite web| author=Greg Lange| url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=755| title=Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad runs first train on March 7, 1877| work=HistoryLink| date=January 24, 1999| access-date=May 20, 2008}}</ref> In 1878 the line was extended to [[Newcastle, Washington|Newcastle]] (east of Lake Washington) and it was later extended to other coal sites in south King County. Although rail lines connecting Georgetown to Seattle had been constructed as early as 1878, Steele's Landing retained its importance for commerce with Seattle until a reliable, permanent rail connection was established in October 1885. In 1884 the rail line got connected to the Northern Pacific line to the south, and by 1889 transcontinental service came to Georgetown.<ref name=HistoryLink3>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historylink.org/File/1683|title=Railroad Development in the Seattle/Puget Sound Region, 1872-1906}}</ref> With an abundance of flat land that Seattle lacked, Georgetown became the site of the [[rail yard]] servicing the new freight traffic. The freight hub in Georgetown fostered the development of industries capitalizing on its access to resources and rail-to-market, including breweries, lumber mills, brickyards, and foundries.<ref>{{cite web|author=Asahel Curtis|title=Georgetown photographs|url=http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/search/collection/curtis/searchterm/Georgetown/field/title/mode/all/conn/and}}</ref> Reconstruction of Seattle after the [[Great Seattle Fire|fire of 1889]] and its rapid growth in the following decade boosted demand for building materials supplied by Georgetown. With fill provided by waste from an early [[Regrading in Seattle|regrade]] attempt on Beacon Hill, the industrial area grew northward across the former tideflats. With access to good hop-growing areas in the valleys of the Duwamish drainage and a large contingent of German immigrants, Georgetown became the sixth-largest beer producing district in the world.<ref name="HistoryLink2" /> A Georgetown brewing company began operations in 1882 and in 1888 acquired the Seattle Brewery with its [[Rainier Brewing Company|Rainier]] brand. The holdings were incorporated as the Seattle Malting and Brewing Company in 1892. The old Seattle Brewery was reopened and expanded after [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] ended. The red brick brewery, home to artists and small businesses, dominates the commercial district along Airport Way S. The old Georgetown brewery was used as a warehouse and cold storage facility. Recent years have seen the opening of several microbreweries with pubs in Georgetown, in a nod to the neighborhood's roots fitting with its revival as an entertainment and cultural district. The unincorporated community was named Georgetown by Julius Horton, after his son, in 1890.<ref>[https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/id/11227/ Museum of History and Industry]</ref><ref>[https://www.historylink.org/File/2663 HistoryLink]</ref><ref>[https://web6.seattle.gov/DPD/HistoricalSite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=-1044207730 Seattle Department of Neighborhoods]</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7EkNU_OTTK8C&dq=%22george+horton%22+georgetown+julius+seattle&pg=PA31 Mirrors of Seattle: Reflecting Some Men Aged Fifty]'', Conorver, Charles Tallmadge, 1931. Pg 31.</ref> In 1890 a County Poor Farm was established along the Duwamish in the southern part of Georgetown. In 1893 Seattle streetcar service came to Georgetown and the King County Hospital was built near the corner of Orcas Street and Corson Avenue, east of the Poor Farm.<ref name="1911map" /> In 1898 Georgetown's first local school was established. In 1902 the Seattle-Tacoma interurban line came through Georgetown, which became the site of its car barns. In 1906 the [[Georgetown Steam Plant]] brought electric power to Georgetown as well as providing power for Seattle [[streetcars]] and the Seattle-Tacoma [[Interurban Trolley|interurban]] line. Georgetown existed as an independent city from 1904 to 1910, when it was annexed by Seattle. Georgetown incorporated in 1904 largely as a defense against the prospect that Seattle would adopt local [[Prohibition]], which could impact Georgetown's ability to keep operating saloons and breweries as an unincorporated area adjoining a dry city. With Seattle increasingly cracking down on public sinfulness within its boundaries, Georgetown caught the windfall with its twenty-four 24 hour saloons, some of which advertised lodging arrangements, and horse racing track.<ref name="HistoryLink2" /> Once Seattle rejected local-option Prohibition, a movement for annexation gained widespread support. Following presentation of a petition for an annexation vote in 1909, a special election was held on March 29, 1910. The annexation proposition passed with 389 votes in favor and 238 opposed. The City of Georgetown, with its 4000 residents, was officially consolidated with Seattle on April 4, 1910. The [[Old Georgetown City Hall]] (1909) is now on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as is the [[Georgetown Steam Plant]] (1906). Statewide Prohibition, enacted in 1914,<ref name="historylink4">{{cite web |last1=Becker |first1=Paula |title=Prohibition in Washington State |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/9630 |website=History Link.org |access-date=10 March 2019}}</ref> closed Georgetown's brewing industry, but the district remained a growing industrial and transportation center for Seattle. Straightening and deepening of the Duwamish waterway completed in 1916 made it more accessible for maritime commerce, bringing more waterfront business to the area. A [[Meander|meander loop]] of the Duwamish through the center of Georgetown was cut off and filled;<ref name=1911map>{{cite web|title= Duwamish Commercial Water District No.1, Planning Map No. 101-21 (1911)|url=https://info.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/roads/mapandrecordscenter/mapvault/Default.aspx?DocId=RIdKZWySCww}}1</ref> the old channel and interior of the loop became a new [[warehouse district]] served by rail spurs. The Duwamish waterway attracted the [[Boeing |Boeing Company]], who set up shop in a former shipyard across the Duwamish from Georgetown to manufacture [[seaplane]]s. Boeing expanded through the 1920s; its land plane testing airstrip in a field south of Georgetown became a public airport (now called [[Boeing Field]]) in 1928 and Boeing constructed a new aircraft assembly plant west of the airport in the mid-1930s. The main north–south automotive route through the Puget Sound region was established through the western part of Georgetown [[Washington State Route 99#Pacific Highway and U.S. Route 99|in 1928]]. Following the burgeoning industry and trade came a steep decline of the residential neighborhood. Dated and downscale housing stock, congestion, and the worst air and noise pollution in the city made it an unattractive place to settle. The library branch was closed in 1948, the neighborhood movie theater closed in 1952, and neighborhood stores closed. Business strips along the thoroughfares expanded onto the cheap land in the struggling neighborhood. The neighborhood population was increasingly divided between elderly long-term residents and short-term renters. During the 1960s the Georgetown elementary school experienced a turnover rate among students of over 90% some years and enrollment declined to less than one third of what it had been during its peak. The school was closed in 1971. As of the 1990s only scattered remnants of the old residential neighborhood remained, housing approximately 1500 residents with a poverty rate of 25%.<ref name="HistoryLink2" />
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