Tag Archives: 14th avenue s

Beacon Hill past and present: Hinds, 14th, and Columbian Way

Hinds and 14th near Columbian Way, December 1956. Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.
Hinds and 14th near Columbian Way, December 1956. Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.
14th and Hinds near Columbian Way, 2009.
14th and Hinds near Columbian Way, 2009.

There are a few changes from the 1956 photo to today, though the site is still clearly recognizable. This is just north of where Columbian Way carries the I-5 and West Seattle Bridge ramp traffic up toward Beacon Hill.

In the 1956 photo, there are much fewer trees and plants than we see in the modern view. The empty lot on the left side of the old photo is now the big apartment building at Columbian and Spokane, though it’s hidden behind trees in the new photo. The Columbian/Spokane intersection is rather busy now, but there’s no obvious traffic signal there in the 1956 photo.

The sidewalk on the right side of 14th no longer exists; the space is now blocked by a chain-link fence. And the car turning right onto Columbian at the bottom of the hill is doing something that is no longer legal; 14th is a one-way street going northbound in this area now. However, while I was taking the current-day photo, a car sped past me, down the hill, and took the right turn anyway.

Here’s another 1956 photo of this location:

Hinds and 14th near Columbian Way, December 1956. Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.
Hinds and 14th near Columbian Way, December 1956. Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.