Ballard was a city of its own until 1907, when the citizenry voted to be annexed into Seattle.
This table, like the recent 1895 Seattle Renaming article, shows each original Ballard street name and what it changed to after annexation. A number of original street names continue today, basically anything that isn’t a number.
To assemble this table I started with the 1888 Gilman Addition plat from the King County records website, then reviewed the 1905 Sanborn fire insurance maps available online from the Seattle Public Library, and finally I reviewed a 1903 sewer map online (map 1588) at the Seattle Municipal Archives.
Street names that did not change are not included. Essentially any named street in Ballard is original.
There are a few streets from just outside of the old City of Ballard boundaries, towards Fremont or across the canal. I happened to notice them while reviewing maps and went ahead and listed them.
For more information on old Ballard, check out my book Lost Seattle.
This data has been shared with a Creative Commons license on Figshare. You can download the full table there.
Edit 1/2019: I have not yet incorporated the original Salmon Park addition street names (plat map available at WA Digital Archives). Because there is a significant change from that 1890 plat to the 1903 sewer map I link to above, that will definitely lead to confusion. Oddly, the name Denton for example is still used in the 1903 Ballard directory, but by this 1903 map it is already “Third Avenue North”. The 1904 Ballard directory’s street guide is a helpful way to bridge the gap between the two maps.
Again using our Denton example, it says Denton is “third east of Fourth Ave W from Ship to city limits”. On the sewer map that is clearly Third Ave North. In the lookup table below, Third Avenue North comes up as 22nd Ave NW. So Denton became 3rd Ave N, which became 22nd Ave NW.
It’s also possible to do a visual comparison between the original plat map and current Google maps. The streets are the same today, so you can get oriented with Salmon Bay Park (“PARK” in the plat) and go from there.
While I’m here I’ll list the sources of a few meanings of street names:
- Denton: Elon W. Denton, filer of Salmon Park Addition
- McDermott: J. D. McDermott, who Denton purchased part of the property from.
| Name before 1907 | Name after 1907 | FROM Old Street | TO Old Street | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | NW 45th | Main | Eastern Ave | |
| Albertson | NW 54th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| Antonia Ave | 35th Ave NW | Canoe | Sloop | |
| B | NW 46th | Main | Eastern Ave | |
| B St | NW 66th | Eighth Ave N | Sixth Ave N | |
| Baker | NW 60th | First Ave W | Tenth Ave | |
| Bay | NW Bright St | 8th Ave NW | 5h Ave NW | |
| Blewett Street | W Ewing Street | 10th Ave NW | 3rd Ave NW | |
| Brig | NW 67th | First Ave W | Sixth Ave N | |
| C | NW Ballard Way | First Ave W | Eastern Ave | |
| Canoe | NW 73rd | First Ave W | Fourth Ave N | |
| Carolina St | NW 66th | Sixth | Eighth | |
| Chestnut | NW 61st | First Ave W | Tenth Ave | |
| Clise Ave | 23rd Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Corvette St | NW 80th | Lime | Eigthth | |
| Crawford | NW 59th | First Ave W | Tenth Ave | |
| D | NW Leary Way | First Ave W | Eastern Ave | |
| Day | NW 51st | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| Dayton Ave | Vadated, Ballard High | E Ship | E Brig | |
| Division Ave N | 8th Ave NW | E Sloop | E Schooner | |
| Division Ave N | 8th Ave NW | E Ship | Mohr | |
| E | NW 49th | First Ave W | Eastern Ave | |
| E Baker | NW 60th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Brig | NW 67th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Broadway | NW Market | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Canoe | NW 73rd | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Chestnut | NW 61st | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Crawford | NW 59th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E North | NW 64th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Polk | NW 63rd | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Post | NW 62nd | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Schooner | NW 75th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Ship | NW 65th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Sloop | NW 70th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E State | NW 56th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Times | NW 58th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| E Willbert | NW 57th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| Eastern Ave N | 9th Ave NW | E Ship | E Sloop | |
| Eastern Avenue | 9th Ave NW | Ship | Ship Canal (NW 42nd) | |
| Eighth Ave N | 32nd Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Eleventh Ave W | 37th Ave NW | Ship | Chestnut | |
| Eli Ave | 13th Ave NW | E Brig | E Sloop | |
| Elm Ave | 11th Ave NW | E Sloop | E Schooner | Marcus Ave in sewer map 1588 |
| Ferry Ave | 25th Ae NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Fifth Ave N | 26th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Fifth Ave N | 26th Ave NW | Ship | Sloop | |
| Fifth Ave W | 26th Ave NW | Broadway | Ship | |
| Findlay | NW 72nd | Eighth Ave N | Sixth Ave N | |
| First Ave N | 17th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| First Ave W | 17th Ave NW | Broadway | Ship | |
| Fonda Ave | 18th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Fourth Ave N | 24th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Fourth Ave N | 24th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Fourth Ave W | 24th Ave NW | Broadway | Ship | |
| Garrett Ave | 19th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Harrison Ave N | 21st Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Holbrook | NW 52nd | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| Jennings | NW 67th | Eighth Ave N | Sixth Ave N | |
| Joseph Ave N | 12th Ave NW | E Brig | E Sloop | |
| Kilbourne Street | Vacated, ship canal | 10th Ave NW | 7th Ave NW | |
| Landridge Ave | 16th Ave NW | E Ship | E Schooner | |
| Lime Ave | [green space] | Schooner | Corvette | |
| Lockard Ave | 14th Ave NW | E Sloop | E Schooner | |
| Main Ave | 15th Ave NW | A | Ship | |
| Main Ave N | 15th Ave NW | E Ship | E Schooner | |
| Mohr | NW 50th | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| Murray | NW 69th | Eighth Ave N | Sixth Ave N | |
| N Park Pl | NW Canoe Pl | Garrett | Harrison | |
| New York | NW 68th | Eighth Ave N | GNRR | |
| Ninth Ave N | 34th Ave NW | Sloop | [North Ballard City Limits] | |
| Ninth Ave W | 34th Ave NW | Ship | [NPRN Rairoad] | |
| North | NW 64th | First Ave W | Tenth Ave | |
| Peach Ave | 10th Ave NW | E Sloop | E Schooner | |
| Polk | NW 63rd | First Ave W | Tenth Ave | |
| Post | NW 62nd | First Ave W | Tenth Ave | |
| Preston | NW 53rd | First Ave W | Division Ave | |
| Railroad | 14th Ave NW | A | Bridge Across Bay | |
| Railroad Ave N | 14th Ave NW | E Ship E Sloop | ||
| Railroad Ave N | Alonzo Ave NW | E Sloop | E Schooner | |
| Ross Place | Vacated? Between NW 40th and NW 41st | 8th Ave NW | Greenwood | |
| S Park Pl | NW Sloop Pl | Garrett | Harrison | |
| Salmon | Vacated, just south of NW 45th | Spring | Eastern Ave | |
| Schooner | NW 75th | First Ave W | Fourth Ave N | |
| Second Ave N | 20th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Second Ave W | 20th Ave NW | Broadway | Ship | |
| Seventh Ave N | 30th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Sherbrook | NW 74th | Eighth Ave N | Sixth Ave N | Sherbrooke in sewer map 1588 |
| Shilby | NW 70th | Eighth Ave N | Sixth Ave N | |
| Ship | NW 65th | First Ave W | Eighth Ave N | |
| Sixth Ave N | 28th Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Sloop | NW 70th | First Ave W | Sixth Ave N | |
| Spokane Ave | 10th Ave NW | E Ship | E Sloop | Marcus Ave in sewer map 1588 |
| Spring Ave N | 11th Ave NW | E Ship | E Sloop | |
| Spring Ave N | 12th Ave NW | E Sloop | E Schooner | |
| Spring Avenue | 11th Ave NW | Ship | Ship Canal (NW 43rd) | |
| Stanton | NW 71st | Eighth Ave N | Sixth Ave N | |
| State | NW 56th | First Ave W | Ninth Ave | |
| Steven Ave | Mary Ave NW | E Sloop | E Schooner | Mary Ave in sewere map 1588 |
| Summit Ave | 33rd Ave NW | Sloop | Schooner | |
| Tenth Ave W | 36th Ave NW | Broadway | Ship | |
| Third Ave N | 22nd Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Third Ave N | 22nd Ave NW | Ship | Schooner | |
| Third Ave W | 22nd Ave NW | Broadway | Ship | |
| Times | NW 58th | First Ave W | Eighth Ave | |
| Times | NW 57th | Eighth Ave W | Tenth Ave W | |
| Vine Ave N | Dibble Ave NW | E Sloop | E Schooner | |
| Whitby | NW 73rd | Eighth Ave N | Sixth Ave N | |
| Wilbert | NW 57th | First Ave W | Eighth Ave | |
| Wilson Ave | 27th Ave NW | Ship | Sloop | |
| Yacht St | NW 73rd | Lime | Eighth |
Great stuff on here, Rob, thank you.
Thanks again for your encouragement!
when did w 79th change to ??nw 79.
Lea, that changed in 1961.
Here’s an archived city of Seattle page with details (the page is down at this moment).
thank you. I have been trying to find where my 3x great grandfather lived while building boats bound for the Yukon in 1900. I found him in the directory at 330 Times. You have been a great help by showing the new street names!