page_title: Capitol Hill, Seattle
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Capitol Hill, Seattle / History
caption_attribution_description: The Harvard Exit Theatre in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, still bears the emblem of the Woman's Century Club, which constructed the building in 1925 to serve as its clubhouse. This sign is over the rear exit on Harvard Avenue E. The Harvard-Belmont Landmark District is part of the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.
context_page_description: Capitol Hill is a densely populated residential district in Seattle, Washington, United States. One of the city's most popular nightlife and entertainment districts, it has remained a historically significant gay village since the mid-20th century and is also home to a vibrant counterculture community.
context_section_description: Capitol Hill was originally known in the early 1900s as 'Broadway Hill' after the neighborhood's main thoroughfare. The origin of the neighborhood's current name is disputed. James A. Moore, the real estate developer who platted much of the area, reportedly named it in the hope that the Washington State Capitol would move to Seattle from Olympia. Another story states that Moore named it after the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, his wife's hometown. According to author Jacqueline Williams, both stories are likely true.
  Because of its one-time large Roman Catholic population, Capitol Hill was frequently referred to as Catholic Hill up until the 1980s.
  Capitol Hill contains some of Seattle's wealthiest neighborhoods, including "Millionaire's Row" along 14th Avenue E. south of Volunteer Park (family residences on tree-lined streets) and the Harvard-Belmont Landmark District. 
  Capitol Hill also has many distinguished apartment houses, including several by Fred Anhalt, as well as a few surviving Classical Revival complexes such as the Blackstone Apartments. However, the neighborhood's architecture did not fare so well in the decades immediately after World War II. Architect Victor Steinbrueck wrote in 1962 of the "tremendous growth of less-than-luxury apartments" that at first "appear to be consistent with the clean, direct approach associated with contemporary architecture" but whose "open outdoor corridors" totally defeat their "large 'view' windows" by giving occupants no privacy if they leave their blinds open to enjoy the view. "Most tenants close their blinds and look for another apartment when their lease runs out."
  During the George Floyd protests of 2020, Cal Anderson Park and much of the upper Pike-Pine Corridor surrounding the SPD East Precinct were barricaded by protesters and proclaimed the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ).
caption: A club from a much earlier era: a sign over the rear door of the Harvard Exit Theatre recognizes the Woman's Century Club, founded in 1891; the club constructed the building in 1925 to serve as its clubhouse. It is now the Mexican consulate.
exif: {}