It always fascinates me to look at old maps. They show the history in a subtle way: things that have changed and things that stayed the same.Ā
This is from a 1980 map created by the Soviet Union intelligence. After the fall of the USSR, these maps were discarded and were largely forgotten.
This map shows the neighborhood where I lived during my late teen and early adult years: First Hill, Seattle. You can see the Interstate 5, Madison Street (colored orange in the middle), Seneca Street (
āul. Seneka-Stritā), and East Union Street (āul. Ist-Yunion-Stritā). Seattleites can also easily identify Broadway, Boren, Pike, and Pine, as well as 10th Avenue East and 12th Avenue East.Ā
I went to school in this neighborhood. The map, however, shows the former occupant of the building, Summit School (āshk. Smitā). Now it is the Northwest School.Ā
Toward the end of my junior year, the graduating senior classĀ āstoleā the woodenĀ āThe Northwest Schoolā sign above the main entrance as a prank, revealing the old sign that readĀ āSUMMIT-SCHOOL.ā (The school is on Summit Avenue.) This historic building was also the original location of Seattle Central College when it began.Ā
Another thing I noticed was that Terry Avenue went through between Spring and Seneca back in 1980. By the time I was there, the street was blocked because of the Virginia Mason Hospitalās double-block building.
The map also shows downtown Seattle before there were the Washington State Convention Center and Freeway Park.Ā Ā
This is part of West Seattle and Duwamish Waterway. Number 73 (also labeledĀ ācollegeā) is South Seattle College. I attended South for three years and I can readily identify the Robert Smith, Cascade Court, Science, and Food Science buildings. Most of my classes took place in the Science building (the U-shaped building), whether or not they were science classes. The Jerry M. Brockey Campus Center building did not exist until 1995 (hence not shown in this map). The little building south of the Science Building was called FAA building as it housed the Federal Aviation Administration (South Seattle College had a very close relationship with FAA and Boeing and operated aviation and avionics programs. It also had a branch campus at the Boeing Field King County International Airport).Ā
Ā Green Lake was one of my favorite summertime hangout spots.Ā
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