Uptown or Lower Queen Anne?!
Last week, I had an Uptown vs. Lower Queen Anne conversation with another Seattle native. Our conclusion–what is this Uptown crap? And how many more neighborhoods does Seattle need? We’re already sectioned off into more than 60 neighborhoods, officially listed in Wikipedia. [#] Then there are the unofficial neighborhoods:
Frelard (the area shared by Fremont and Ballard)
Freford or Wallmont (the area shared by Fremont and Wallingford)
So, am I now living in Queentown or UpAnne?!
After searching the World Wide Web for a reason behind the Uptown phenomenon, I weeded through the business listings–Uptown Coffee, Uptown Theater, Uptown Chinese, Uptown Barber–and finally found The Uptown Alliance. According to their official Web site, the neighborhood plan for Queen Anne redesignated “lower Queen Anne” as “Uptown,” in 1998. Uptown is unofficially parts of The Seattle Center and the shopping and dining district to the north and west of the Center. [#] But, Peso’s and Ozzie’s–two popular bars in the area–list their location as Queen Anne. So, are half the businesses located in Uptown and the other half in Queen Anne? And at what point am I crossing over into Queen Anne from Uptown or visa versa when walking around the neighborhood?
I live in Queen Anne. This is what I tell people when they ask, and I’m not trying to section myself off into a six-block radius. I go to upper Queen Anne for Noah’s Bagels, Elliot Bay Pizza Co, etc. and I go to lower Queen Anne for Peso’s, 10 Mercer, The Melting Pot, etc.
Seattle has enough neighborhoods, and “Uptown” seems to be just another marketing term to create buzz and perhaps sell a few more condos. Furthermore, when I asked a fellow Queen Anne local about his opinion on this matter, he said he recently came across “Midtown” when condo shopping. Apparently, Midtown is supposed to be the area on Western and Elliot that is north of Belltown. WTF?
So, Metblog readers, what is your opinion on these new neighborhoods cropping up? Uptown? Midtown? Do you consider these legitimate neighborhoods of Seattle?
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I used to live in the northernmost lands of Queen Anne (a block south of Nickerson), but felt like a poseur when I told people I lived in “Queen Anne.” What’s that area going to be called?
I still call the Mercer area “Lower Queen Anne.” I think it’ll be a few years to a decade before the whole “Uptown” thing catches.
yeah. I don’t know that “uptown” will really catch on, especially with Uptown Espressos scattered throughout non “uptown” parts of the city and http://uptownseattle.blogspot.com/ defunct.
When we slapped up the Uptown Seattle blog (anybody want to revive? change the name to Lower Queen Anne for all we care) we went with Uptown to differentiate our area (near Western Ave) from downtown and be more inclusive than Lower Queen Anne. But it also kind of bugged us to be aligned with the city’s Uptown propaganda effort. Anyhow, neighborhood name debating is a time honored pastime. Enjoy it.
Let me chime in here as a 3rd generation Queen Anne resident. The neighborhood below Queen Anne Hill to the South has been called Uptown forever. This is not a new thing. It was called that when my Dad was growing up on QA in the 1930’s. The whole “Lower Queen Anne” thing didn’t really catch on until the 90’s. Back when we were being fully Californicated and everyone started having ideas about renaming everything. I always thought that calling it “Lower Queen Anne” was pretty stupid since Nickerson to the North, and Dexter to the East are technically “Lower Queen Anne” as well.
I wish new residents to our city would spend some time learning a little about the history and culture of Seattle instead of just complaining about everything.
-David Adams
I did come across the Uptown Seattle blog. Always a shame to see a blog going to the wayside. Hope someone has the heart and energy to pick it up here soon. I think the area toward Western and Denny (where Uptown China and Buckley’s are located) is more “Uptown” than the stuff closer to the Center. Meh. Tomato, TomAAAto.
David,
I enjoyed learning that Uptown has been around since 1930s. Everything I could find about Queen Anne listed it as a new term. I do hope, however, that you’re not lumping me into the “new complaining resident” category cause I am a native. Thanks for the history!
It’s been called uptown forever. Thank you David. Sorry to dissapoint but if you’re a Seattle native why is this new news?
Well, I guess cause I’m young (my apologies) and I’ve always just heard people refer to it as Queen Anne. I’ve never heard anyone say, “I live in Uptown.” I guess it’s not necessarily new, but more prevalent to me recently.
Isn’t Uptown Espresso actually named after the area, because their first shop was there (Queen Anne Ave & Mercer St)? It does seem a bit silly to have a chain named after a place when it has branches all over, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped Seattle’s Best Coffee….
I ignore Uptown, Midtown and West Edge. It’s a needless attempt to oversegment the neighborhoods, which already have their own identities.
No, I wasn’t lumping you in with the carpet baggers =) . I always forget too, that if you are younger than about 30, the Seattle you grew up in changed a LOT from the Seattle I grew up in. There was so much change here in the 90’s.
Regarding Uptown Espresso; the first one was there across from Dick’s on Queen Anne Ave. and it was named after the neighborhood. There used to be a lot of things named “Uptown” in that neighborhood.
So if you want to sound like you’ve lived long enough that your grandparents help start the Seattle yaght club:
- the bottom of QA between Roy and Denny is “Uptown”
- The hill on Queen Anne Ave. between Galer and Roy is “the Counterbalance”
- and Seattle is and will always be “the Queen City”
oh yeah, and the Sonics play in “The Coloseum”
-David
The Oklahoma City Coloseum?
[ducks and runs for cover]
yeah, and the Mariners play in the Kingdome, regardless of what it’s currently called. It will always be the Kingdome to me. I just can’t abide by calling a building by the name of a company! unless the company is actually in that building. And also, a lot of people work for Boeings. Another fond memory for older natives is Seattle before the freeway was built.