The Untold History of First Hill's Alder Street

 

Originating in the 1872 plat of Terry’s Second Addition to the Town of Seattle, Alder Street was surveyed during the city’s early timber-driven expansion. Filed by early Seattle settlers—including Arthur Denny, mill owner Henry Yesler, and the estate of Charles Terry—the street was part of a group of east-west thoroughfares named after native trees, alongside Pine, Cedar, and Fir. Over time, as downtown grew and duplicate street names were cleared up, Pine and Cedar were renamed, but Alder retained its original moniker.

Alder Street began its life on the steep southern slope of First Hill. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this hillside—famously nicknamed "Profanity Hill" due to the arduous climb required to reach the early King County Courthouse—developed into a dense, working-class residential area. Wood-frame apartment buildings, boarding houses, and single-family homes lined the street. The corridor became home to diverse immigrant populations, including early Jewish settlers and a thriving Japanese American community in the surrounding Nihonmachi (Japantown) neighborhood.

The character of Alder Street transformed drastically in the 1930s and 1940s. Deemed "blighted" by city officials, much of the surrounding neighborhood was cleared to make way for Yesler Terrace. Established in 1941 by the Seattle Housing Authority, Yesler Terrace made national history as the first racially integrated public housing project in the United States. Alder Street ran directly through this newly designed residential landscape, bordered by modest two-story townhouses that housed low-income defense workers and families from diverse backgrounds. However, the forced relocation and internment of Japanese American residents under Executive Order 9066 in 1942 permanently reshaped the cultural fabric along the street.

Another major physical disruption occurred in the 1960s with the construction of Interstate 5. The freeway sliced through First Hill and Yesler Terrace, severing the westernmost blocks of Alder Street. Today, its western right-of-way technically originates near 6th Avenue, but the physical street begins at the Harborview Medical Center parking garage. From there, it spans eastward through First Hill and the Central District before dropping down to end near Lake Washington Boulevard.

Throughout the mid-to-late 20th century, the East Alder Street corridor extending into the Central District became deeply intertwined with Seattle’s Black community. It bordered key institutions, residential blocks, and civic sites, including the King County Youth Services Center (now the Children and Family Justice Center) at 12th Avenue.

In the 21st century, Alder Street underwent its most significant redevelopment since the New Deal era. Beginning in the 2010s, the Seattle Housing Authority initiated a multi-phase plan to transform Yesler Terrace into a high-density, mixed-income neighborhood. The mid-century townhouses along Alder Street were systematically replaced by modern multi-story apartment buildings, newly paved greenways, and public parks. While the physical landscape of Alder Street has continually shifted—from timberland to an immigrant enclave, a public housing milestone, and modern urban density—it remains a core corridor reflecting Seattle's social and architectural evolution.