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First Hill is a
neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington, United States. It is named for the hill on which it is located, which in turn is so named for being the first hill encountered while traveling east from
downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
toward
Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...
. First Hill is bounded on the west by
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
, beyond which is Downtown, on the north by E. Pike and E. Madison Streets, beyond which is
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
, and on the south by Yesler Way, beyond which is the International District. The City of Seattle provides conflicting information about its eastern limit, beyond which are Cherry Hill and the Central District. Some describe it as being bounded by Broadway and Boren Avenues, while others describe it as being bounded by 12th Avenue. First Hill has been home to
Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...
, a private
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
university, since 1891. Also located on the hill are Northwest School, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
O'Dea High School O'Dea High School is a Roman Catholicism, Catholic all boys high school founded in 1923 and is located in Seattle's First Hill, Seattle, First Hill neighborhood. The school is named after Edward John O'Dea who was bishop of Seattle when the sch ...
, and
Frye Art Museum The Frye Art Museum is a modern and contemporary art museum in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1952 to house the collection of Charles and Emma Frye and has since grown to include rotating temporary exhibi ...
, as well as several churches that have become city landmarks: Trinity Parish Church, St. James Cathedral, and Seattle First Baptist Church.


History

First Hill became increasingly attractive in the 1890s as a location close enough to downtown for convenience, but removed enough to offer a sense of retreat for the wealthier residents of Seattle. Among the elite to live in the area at that time were Indian fighter turned businessman Granville O. Haller, local judge Cornelius H. Hanford, successful meatpacker Charles Frye (whose private art collection is now visible to the public at First Hill's
Frye Art Museum The Frye Art Museum is a modern and contemporary art museum in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1952 to house the collection of Charles and Emma Frye and has since grown to include rotating temporary exhibi ...
), contractor
Morgan Carkeek Morgan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film * ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama * ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller * ...
(for whom Carkeek Park is named),
William Boeing William Edward Boeing (; October 1, 1881 – September 28, 1956) was an American aviation pioneer. He founded the Pacific Airplane Company in 1916, which was renamed to Boeing a year later. The company is now the largest exporter in the United ...
, founder of the
Boeing Company The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
and
Judge Hiram Bond Hiram Bond was born May 10, 1838, in Farmersville, Cattaraugus County, New York and died in Seattle March 29, 1906. He was a corporate lawyer, investment banker and an investor in various businesses including gold mining. His family are descend ...
. The photographer
Imogen Cunningham Imogen Cunningham (; April 12, 1883 – June 23, 1976) was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nude photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. Cunningham was a member of the California-based Group f/64, known for its ...
and her husband
Roi Partridge George Roy Partridge (October 14, 1888 – January 25, 1984), also known professionally as Roi Partridge, was an American printmaker and teacher. He was born in Centralia, Washington. At age four he moved with his family to Seattle, where his fath ...
lived in a boarding house on First Hill during the 1910s, until the residents of the house were evicted and the property converted into a
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
. More recently, local philanthropist and businesswoman Patsy Bullitt Collins resided in a First Hill condominium.


First King County Courthouse

The first official
King County Courthouse The King County Courthouse is the administrative building housing the judicial branch of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington's government. It is located in downtown Seattle, just north of Pioneer Square, Seattle, ...
was built on First Hill in 1889–1890. The steep climb to the courthouse from downtown legal offices caused such frequent and vociferous complaints that Seattle lawyers nicknamed the area "Profanity Hill". The courthouse, constructed on the corner of 7th Avenue and Alder Street, was quickly outgrown, which, along with the loud dissatisfaction of local attorneys, led the county to move the courthouse off First Hill in 1916.


Pill Hill

The hill is also known as "Pill Hill" due to its many medical buildings. In addition to being the current home of three major health care facilities (
Harborview Medical Center Harborview Medical Center is a public hospital located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is owned by King County and managed by UW Medicine. Overview Harborview Medical Center is the designated Disast ...
,
Swedish Medical Center Swedish Health Services (formerly Swedish Medical Center) is a nonprofit healthcare provider in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates five hospital campuses (in the Seattle neighborhoods of First Hill, Cherry Hill and Ballard, and the ci ...
/First Hill, and
Virginia Mason Medical Center Virginia Mason Medical Center is an integrated hospital, training and research facility located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It was the founding location, in 1920, of the private, non-profit Virginia Mason health organization; in January 2021, the ...
or four if Swedish Medical Center/Cherry Hill, located on 16th Avenue, is included in the neighborhood), and the Puget Sound Blood Center, it was also once the location of the Maynard, Seattle General, and Doctors Hospitals (all of which merged into Swedish) as well as Cabrini Hospital.


Transportation

First Hill's major thoroughfares, assuming its greatest possible extent, include Madison, James, Cherry, and Spring Streets and Yesler Way (east- and west-bound) and 9th and Boren Avenues and Broadway (north- and south-bound).


Public Transportation

A
Link light rail Link light rail is a light rail system with some rapid transit characteristics that serves the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit pro ...
station was originally planned for First Hill, but was cancelled due to geotechnical risks prior to the construction of
University Link The University Link tunnel is a light rail tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The twin-bore tunnel carries Link light rail service on the 1 Line (Sound Transit), 1 Line from the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel to University of ...
. Instead, the
First Hill Streetcar The First Hill Streetcar, officially the First Hill Line, is a streetcar route in Seattle, Washington, United States, forming part of the modern Seattle Streetcar system. It travels between several neighborhoods in central Seattle, including th ...
was built on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
and Jackson Street to connect First Hill with the International District / Chinatown and
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
stations, beginning service in January 2016.


Panoramic view of First Hill


References


Further reading

*


External links


Seattle City Clerk: First Hill neighborhoodSeattle Photographs Collection, First Hill
- University of Washington Digital Collections {{Authority control