University Village, Seattle, Washington
Encyclopedia
University Village is an upscale shopping center in Seattle, Washington
, built at the south corner of Ravenna
neighborhood. The 24 acre (97,000 m²) shopping center was built in 1956 across NE 45th Street on an earlier part of the Montlake Landfill
(since 1911, 1922–1966; home of J. P. Patches
1958-1981), taking out what remained of the Union Bay Marsh that was drained by the lowering of Lake Washington
as a result of the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal
(1913–1916). Some wetland was later partially restored as the Union Bay Natural Area
with the Center for Urban Horticulture.
University Village was originally developed by Continental Inc. who also developed Westwood Village in West Seattle and Aurora Village in Shoreline, WA.
Until the early 1990s, the character of University Village was decidedly different. Most of its businesses were small, and the chain stores were all local: Ernst Hardware and Malmo Nursery, Lamonts
department store (acquired by Gottschalks
in 2000), Pay 'n Save Drugs
(sold to PayLess Drug
in the early 1990s), and QFC
supermarket. There was even a bowling alley, Village Lanes. Many of the businesses began to falter toward the end of the 1980s, however, and in 1993 the owners of the mall decided to sell. The chairman of QFC and a partner bought it, and tenants such as those mentioned above began to move out. U-Village, as it is colloquially known, no longer has a hardware store, but features upscale national stores such as Restoration Hardware
, Pottery Barn
, Miller-Pollard, Banana Republic, and Crate & Barrel instead (as well as related local specialty stores). Despite this, 61% of U-Village merchants are still local. (The Ernst and Pay n' Save corporate chains went out of business in the 1990s; adjacent QFC still nominally exists, but as a division of Kroger
.)
Anchor tenants today are Barnes & Noble
, local and family-owned Bartell Drugs
(since 1890), Crate & Barrel, The Gap, and Pottery Barn
. Significant adjacent anchors are the Seattle QFC flagship store, a large Safeway
, and an Office Depot
. In 1991, neighborhood activists initiated a campaign with the City to "daylight" Ravenna Creek
through Ravenna Park to Lake Washington, but the segment from the park to the University of Washington
(UW) and the Union Bay Natural Area
was successfully blocked by the owners of University Village.
The campus of the UW is to the west and south, the neighborhood of Bryant
farther to the east, and the neighborhood of Ravenna
to the north, but portions of the surrounding neighborhoods are often referred to as being in "University Village" themselves, approximately west to 22nd Avenue NE, north to NE 55th Street, and east to Union Bay Place NE and 30th Avenue NE. The area's principal arterials are 25th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street; 35th Avenue is a minor arterial. Collector arterials are NE Blakeley-Union Bay Place NE and NE 55th streets.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, built at the south corner of Ravenna
Ravenna, Seattle, Washington
Ravenna is a neighborhood in northeastern Seattle, Washington named after Ravenna, Italy. Though Ravenna is considered a residential neighborhood, it also is home to several businesses such as the University Village Shopping Center...
neighborhood. The 24 acre (97,000 m²) shopping center was built in 1956 across NE 45th Street on an earlier part of the Montlake Landfill
Union Bay Natural Area
The Union Bay Natural Area in in Seattle, Washington, also known as Union Bay Marsh, is the restored remainder of the filled former Union Bay and Union Bay Marsh after University Village Shopping Center, the University of Washington athletic facilities, buildings, and main parking area...
(since 1911, 1922–1966; home of J. P. Patches
J. P. Patches
J.P. Patches is a clown portrayed by Seattle entertainer Chris Wedes . The J.P. Patches Show was one of the longer-running locally-produced children's television programs in the United States, having appeared on Seattle TV station KIRO channel 7 from 1958 to 1981...
1958-1981), taking out what remained of the Union Bay Marsh that was drained by the lowering of Lake Washington
Lake Washington
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and...
as a result of the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal
Lake Washington Ship Canal
The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the City of Seattle, Washington, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of Puget Sound. The Ship Canal includes a series of locks, modeled after the Panama Canal, to accommodate the different water levels...
(1913–1916). Some wetland was later partially restored as the Union Bay Natural Area
Union Bay Natural Area
The Union Bay Natural Area in in Seattle, Washington, also known as Union Bay Marsh, is the restored remainder of the filled former Union Bay and Union Bay Marsh after University Village Shopping Center, the University of Washington athletic facilities, buildings, and main parking area...
with the Center for Urban Horticulture.
University Village was originally developed by Continental Inc. who also developed Westwood Village in West Seattle and Aurora Village in Shoreline, WA.
Until the early 1990s, the character of University Village was decidedly different. Most of its businesses were small, and the chain stores were all local: Ernst Hardware and Malmo Nursery, Lamonts
Lamonts
Lamonts was a chain of department stores founded in Seattle, Washington. The chain was started in 1970 when Pay 'n Save renamed its suburban branches of Rhodes, a department store chain the company acquired in 1965. Lamonts remained a division of Pay 'n Save until 1985...
department store (acquired by Gottschalks
Gottschalks
Gottschalks was a middle-tier American department store that operated 58 department stores and three specialty apparel stores in six western states ; some locations ran as Harris-Gottschalks stores...
in 2000), Pay 'n Save Drugs
Pay 'n Save
Pay 'n Save was a retail company founded by Monte Lafayette Bean in Seattle, Washington; 1940. Over the years, Pay 'n Save was the leading drug store chain in Washington and was the owner several Washington-based retailers including Lamonts and Ernst...
(sold to PayLess Drug
Thrifty PayLess
Thrifty PayLess Holdings, Inc. was a pharmacy holding company that owned the Thrifty Drugs and PayLess Drug Stores chains in the western United States....
in the early 1990s), and QFC
QFC
Quality Food Centers is a supermarket chain based in Bellevue, Washington, with over 75 stores in the Puget Sound region of Washington state and in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area.-History:...
supermarket. There was even a bowling alley, Village Lanes. Many of the businesses began to falter toward the end of the 1980s, however, and in 1993 the owners of the mall decided to sell. The chairman of QFC and a partner bought it, and tenants such as those mentioned above began to move out. U-Village, as it is colloquially known, no longer has a hardware store, but features upscale national stores such as Restoration Hardware
Restoration Hardware
Restoration Hardware is an American furniture chain of home furnishings, bath fixtures and bathware, functional and decorative hardware and related merchandise. The company defines its wares as classic and authentic American. Restoration Hardware, Inc. sells its merchandise offering through its...
, Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn is an American-based home furnishing store chain with retail stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Since September 1986, when it was purchased from GAP, Inc, Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc....
, Miller-Pollard, Banana Republic, and Crate & Barrel instead (as well as related local specialty stores). Despite this, 61% of U-Village merchants are still local. (The Ernst and Pay n' Save corporate chains went out of business in the 1990s; adjacent QFC still nominally exists, but as a division of Kroger
Kroger
The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
.)
Anchor tenants today are Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
, local and family-owned Bartell Drugs
Bartell Drugs
Bartell Drugs is a chain of pharmacies in the Puget Sound area of the U.S. state of Washington. Currently, they primarily serve the Seattle and King County area but have been slowly expanding into Snohomish and Pierce Counties to the North and South, respectively. George D. Bartell, grandson of the...
(since 1890), Crate & Barrel, The Gap, and Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn is an American-based home furnishing store chain with retail stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Since September 1986, when it was purchased from GAP, Inc, Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc....
. Significant adjacent anchors are the Seattle QFC flagship store, a large Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
, and an Office Depot
Office Depot
Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,...
. In 1991, neighborhood activists initiated a campaign with the City to "daylight" Ravenna Creek
Ravenna Creek
Ravenna Creek is a stream in the Ravenna and Roosevelt neighborhoods of Seattle, Washington, whose present daylighted length of nearly 3500 feet is entirely within Cowen and Ravenna parks....
through Ravenna Park to Lake Washington, but the segment from the park to the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(UW) and the Union Bay Natural Area
Union Bay Natural Area
The Union Bay Natural Area in in Seattle, Washington, also known as Union Bay Marsh, is the restored remainder of the filled former Union Bay and Union Bay Marsh after University Village Shopping Center, the University of Washington athletic facilities, buildings, and main parking area...
was successfully blocked by the owners of University Village.
The campus of the UW is to the west and south, the neighborhood of Bryant
Bryant, Seattle, Washington
- Bryant and Ravenna-Bryant :Bryant is a residential neighborhood in northeast Seattle, Washington. It is bounded by 25th Avenue NE on the west, beyond which is Ravenna; NE Blakeley Street, Union Bay Place NE and NE 45th Street on the south, beyond which is University Village; Sand Point Way NE on...
farther to the east, and the neighborhood of Ravenna
Ravenna, Seattle, Washington
Ravenna is a neighborhood in northeastern Seattle, Washington named after Ravenna, Italy. Though Ravenna is considered a residential neighborhood, it also is home to several businesses such as the University Village Shopping Center...
to the north, but portions of the surrounding neighborhoods are often referred to as being in "University Village" themselves, approximately west to 22nd Avenue NE, north to NE 55th Street, and east to Union Bay Place NE and 30th Avenue NE. The area's principal arterials are 25th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street; 35th Avenue is a minor arterial. Collector arterials are NE Blakeley-Union Bay Place NE and NE 55th streets.
Competing local shopping
- Northgate MallNorthgate Mall (Seattle)Northgate Mall is a shopping mall in the Northgate district of north urban Seattle, Washington. It is currently anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, Toys "R" Us, JCPenney, Macy's and Nordstrom.-History:...
- The AveThe AveUniversity Way NE, colloquially The Ave , is the commercial heart of the University District and the off-campus extension of the University of Washington in Seattle. Once "a department store eight blocks long," The Ave has gradually turned into what now resembles an eight-block-long global food...
- Downtown Lake CityLake City, Seattle, WashingtonLake City is the northeast region of Seattle, centered along Lake City Way NE , 7–8 miles northeast of downtown. A broader definition of the Lake City area includes all the land between 15th Avenue NE and Lake Washington, and between NE 85th and 98th streets to the Seattle city limits at NE 145th...
See also
- Neighborhoods of Ravenna Creek