Columbia City (Seattle, Washington)

 neighborhood, draw only border

 Upload a photo

Up and coming (meaning early stages of gentrification) neighborhood. Good bakeries, cafes, theaters, and lots of groovy people, many with young children

Columbia City is a neighborhood in the Rainier Valley area of south Seattle, Washington. It was dense forest, inhabited by the local Native Americans, until the arrival of the Rainier Valley Electric Railway from Downtown in 1891. A lumber mill was built soon after, and in 1891 settlement began in earnest in "Columbia," named either for Christopher Columbus or the song "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean". Three streets in the neighborhood bear names of other famous explorers, a Columbia Street already existing Downtown: Ferdinand Street after Magellan, Hudson Street after Henry Hudson, and Americus Street after Amerigo Vespucci.
Columbia incorporated as "Columbia City" in January 1893. Annexation to the City of Seattle came May 3, 1907 following a petition by citizens to the City Council to hold a special election on the matter. Although opposition to annexation had initially been strong due to citizens' desire for local control, the March 5 vote was overwhelming: 109-3 in favor of annexation to Seattle.