Capitol Hill through the years Historic photos of Seattle’s most dynamic neighborhood

Click through for a look at Seattle’s Capitol Hill as pictured in archive photos drawn from Seattlepi.com, the Museum of History and Industry and the Seattle Municipal Archive. Click through for a look at Seattle’s Capitol Hill as pictured in archive photos drawn from Seattlepi.com, the Museum of History and Industry and the Seattle Municipal Archive. Image 1 of / 176 Caption Close Capitol Hill through the years 1 / 176 Back to Gallery

It wasn’t always Capitol Hill.

For decades, Seattle’s cultural center was known as Broadway Hill, a sensible name given the 440-foot rise’s defining street. No one can say for sure why the name changed in 1901.

HistoryLink.org – Washington’s beloved encyclopedia – gives us the conflicting reports.

One story goes as most suspect. Hoping to lure the state capitol north from Olympia, Seattle’s civic leaders figured they would grease the skids by renaming the prominent hill. Those keeping score will note Seattle had no more success than Ellensburg, where a four-story castle was built to house the governor.

Another goes that real estate developer James Moore renamed the hill after Denver’s Capitol Hill. His wife hailed from there, and, his defenders contend, he was a sentimental guy.

Writing for HistoryLink, Paul Dorpat put forward a third motive – Moore hoped a showy name would help him sell some land.

However it came by its name, Capitol Hill has been one of Seattle's most consequential neighborhoods. It was an early seat of urban Seattle, home to the city's first great park – Volunteer Park – and a key stop in delivering delicious Cedar River water to the city's residents a century ago. Its urban core draws the young, while its northern mansions shelter Seattle's fashionable rich.

Capitol Hill can also be considered the birthplace of Seattle’s liberal identity.

Racially restrictive covenants north of the Ship Canal left Capitol Hill as a mixed area within a segregated city. The institution now known as Seattle Central College got its start as a center for higher ed, educating GIs of all races returning from World War II. As it remains today, the Broadway campus was a focal point for protest during the 1960s civil rights movement.

The neighborhood has, at least since the 1950s, been the center of gay life in the region. The city’s first gay bar opened there, the state’s first openly gay legislator – Cal Anderson – made his home there and the gay rights movement got its start on Capitol Hill. Pride weekend is still the big draw, though the Capitol Hill Block Party gives it a run for its money.

Click through the gallery above to see how Capitol Hill has evolved over the years. Or click here for a look at South Lake Union's past.