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, many of which are located in the University Village, a shopping mall.
Ravenna Park, located near University Village and the walking or biking route connecting Green Lake to BurkeâÂÂGilman Trail, is located within the neighborhood.
Human habitation in what is now Ravenna dates to the end of the last glacial period (c.à8000àBCE).àBefore EuroâÂÂAmerican settlement, the land formed part of the homeland of the DuwamishâÂÂthe D<u>kh</u><sup>w</sup>âÂÂDuwâÂÂAbsh (âÂÂPeople of the InsideâÂÂ)âÂÂone of the CoastàSalish nations. Their village of SWAHâÂÂtsooâÂÂgweel (âÂÂportageâÂÂ) stood on nearby UnionàBay, while the forested wetland that became Ravenna served as a vital backyard and travel corridor.
The BurkeâÂÂGilman Trail follows the route of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, which reached the district about 1886.àIn 1890, mining and realâÂÂestate entrepreneur **WilliamàWirtàBeck** (1851âÂÂ1944) platted roughly 400àacres with an eye to creating an ideal community modeled on Ravenna, Italy. That same year he opened the *Seattle Female College* in his homeâÂÂstill standing a few blocks east of todayâÂÂs Ravenna ParkâÂÂand helped launch the Ravenna Flouring Mill Company, which built King CountyâÂÂs first grist mill. Beck also preserved 70àacres of oldâÂÂgrowth timber in the ravine that became Ravenna Park.
A streetcar line began service in 1891 along 14thàAvenueàNE (now University WayàNE), skirted the south edge of Ravenna Park, and connected the suburb to downtown Seattle. In 1903, the Olmsted Brothers incorporated Ravenna Boulevard into their citywide parksâÂÂandâÂÂboulevards plan, giving the neighborhood its signature diagonal greenway.
Ravenna incorporated as a town in 1906 and was annexed by Seattle the following year. At annexation, the town limits stretched from 15thÃÂ AvenueÃÂ NE to 20thÃÂ AvenueÃÂ NE north of NEÃÂ 65thÃÂ Street and to 30thÃÂ AvenueÃÂ NE south of NEÃÂ 65th, with NEÃÂ 55thÃÂ Street forming the southern edge.
After the 1916 opening of the Montlake Cut, UnionàBayâÂÂs water level dropped, exposing mudflats that were progressively filled during the 1910sâÂÂ1950s. The southernmost reclaimed land later hosted University Village, an openâÂÂair shopping center that opened in 1956.
Modern Ravenna is bounded on the west by 15thàandà20thàAvenuesàNE, beyond which lies Roosevelt; on the north by NEà75thàandà85thàStreets, adjacent to MapleàLeaf and Wedgwood; on the east by 25thàandà35thàAvenuesàNE, facing ViewàRidge, Windermere and Laurelhurst; and on the south by NEàRavennaàBoulevard and NEàBlakeley or NEà45thàStreets, across from the UniversityàDistrict and University Village. The neighboring area commonly called *RavennaâÂÂBryant* extends the eastern edge to 45thàAvenueàNE between NEà75thàStreet and SandàPointàWayàNE.
The principal arterial through the neighborhood is 25thÃÂ AvenueÃÂ NE, while 15thÃÂ andÃÂ 35thÃÂ AvenuesÃÂ NE and NEÃÂ 65thÃÂ Street function as minor arterials. NEÃÂ 40thÃÂ AvenueÃÂ NE and NEÃÂ 55thÃÂ Street serve as collectors. NEÃÂ RavennaÃÂ Boulevard is a signed local bikeway, and 20thÃÂ AvenueÃÂ NE has been closed to motor vehicles since 1975, creating a popular pedestrian and cycling route over the former 20thÃÂ AvenueÃÂ Bridge.
Since 1951, residents of Park RoadâÂÂlocally famous as **CandyàCaneàLane**âÂÂhave mounted an elaborate December lights display, drawing bumperâÂÂtoâÂÂbumper evening traffic. A corner grocery has operated on RavennaàBoulevard since the 1920s, while QueenàMary Tea Room (known for Victorian afternoon tea), the Duchess Tavern (establishedà1934), and SeattleâÂÂs only familyâÂÂowned Volvo dealership round out the neighborhoodâÂÂs longstanding businesses.
The lateâÂÂ19thâÂÂcentury view above looks northeast across the depot (foreground center) toward the Seattle Female College on the hillside, with the Ravenna Flouring Mill in the foreground; several buildings shown, including the Phillips House, remain standing today.
The conjoined Cowen Park and Ravenna Park is located at a southwest corner of Ravenna-Bryant, reaching from beyond the source of Ravenna Creek beside nearby Brooklyn Avenue and Ravenna Boulevard, under the 15th Avenue bridge to 25th Avenue NE. The parks comprise the centerpiece of the neighborhood.
For many decades of Seattle city history, the park ravine had been ignored by loggers and farmers and still possessed full old-growth timber rising nearly 400 feet. The trees remained through the AlaskaâÂÂYukonâÂÂPacific Exposition of 1908, at which they were featured exhibitions. Public controversy about them declined after their gradual disappearance in suspicious circumstances by 1926. Today, none of that size remain anywhere in the world. The legacy helped save Seward and Carkeek parks, and helped galvanize conservation efforts ever since. Today, a single Sierra Redwood stands over the Medicinal Herb Garden at a south edge of the UW campus, at 106 feet somewhat over a quarter of the height of those of Cowen Park-Ravenna Park.
Projects have included daylighting portions of the creek (partly with the goal of restoring native fish runs), building and maintaining trails, and restoring riparian habitat, sometimes in collaboration with the University of Washington's environmental science program. Completion of downstream daylighting to the mouth of the creek beside Union Bay Natural Area and restoration of migrating fish has come into conflict with property owners, specifically the owners of University Village, even though a revised daylighting project would not include their land.