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Rainier Valley, Seattle

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parts of Rainier Valley from other historic neighborhoods in Seattle. Away from Rainier Avenue South, a fair amount of the development is postwar, when the Valley was filled out as part of the "Boeing boom," but historic pre-World War II housing can be found in every part of the Valley, where these often imposing homes once commanded large spreads that were later subdivided and sold off. One such estate was owned from 1902 to 1916 by a certain up-and-coming dry-goods purveyor by the name of J. Walter Nordstrom, who brought up his young family of three children there, as documented by the Rainier Valley Historical Society in 2017 (the estate was at the 3700 block of South Juneau Street). Unlike most of Seattle, then, the Valley has an interesting mix of pre- and post-war houses cheek-to-jowl (in Seattle residential style), with only the neighborhood immediately surrounding Columbia City almost exclusively pre-World War II.
156: 696: 168: 381: 700: 893: 36: 497:. The neighborhood's population is 34,241, with Asians making up the largest group (with Filipinos the largest within the Asian population of the Valley). However, there remains a large African American population, as well as European Americans. Its zip code is 98118, which also includes the neighborhood directly east of Rainier Valley of 485:– hitting hard in Rainier Valley with its high density of factory workers – and exacerbated by the later construction of a freeway interchange that disrupted a once vital commercial district. The construction of light rail brought new residential and commercial development to stations at Columbia City and Othello. 403:" from the valley despite its historic diversity. The general exodus of whites from the valley, Beacon Hill, and Seward Park, which began in the mid-60s, was primarily over by the mid-80s, when some historic "children of the Valley" began to return to it, as well as other new residents. With the end of the 513:
Beginning in the 1960s, Rainier Valley began to be viewed as "unsafe," with this view peaking in the 1980s and the Valley did include two housing projects; Rainier Vista and Holly Park. The area is the home of organized gangs with rivalries against each other and groups in other neighborhoods. Of the
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for the length of the valley until it veers west to serve the North Beacon Hill neighborhood, SoDo industrial area, and downtown Seattle. Light rail and its attendant improvements (most notably underground wiring) have breathed new life into Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, considered at least since
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The Valley neighborhoods lying along Rainier Avenue South rival any other part of Seattle for age, since they are near the historic streetcar (removed in 1937) that in 1892 connected downtown Seattle to Columbia City and then later to Renton, known as the "Rainier Valley and Renton Railroad." The
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to house Boeing and shipyard workers during the war. Following the war through the Boeing crash of 1971, the Valley boomed with middle-class residential construction and with all of this construction, the Valley continued its historic diversity. Interracial couples in the 1950s found the Valley
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Rainier Valley's racial breakdown is 20.9% Caucasian, 32% African American, 34.1% Asian, 1% Native American, 1.6% Pacific Islander, 6.5% Mixed Race, and 3.4% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.2% of the population. 11.1% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the
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rather than south, made the valley dry enough to allow building, where it boomed along with the rest of Seattle on and after the Alaskan Gold rush right up to the Depression of the 1930s. Because Seattle was a hamlet before the 1889 Alaskan Gold Rush, there is little to distinguish the historic
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neighborhood on South Jackson Street. Additional population growth was seen with the arrival of Filipinos throughout the Valley, though their businesses are fewer. St. Edward Roman Catholic Church is the cultural heart of the Filipino community in the Valley.
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announced that the South Precinct, which includes Rainier Valley had dropped in crime rate by 8% for the first ten months of 2006. Auto thefts and thefts in general had decreased with robbery and gang activity still highly reported.
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the area in 1850, with Ebey's assessment printed in an Oregon newspaper to entice other settlers. Native Americans had several encampments in the area prior to the settlers, and a permanent village at the south end of the valley.
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There are several identifiable neighborhoods within Rainier Valley, including (from north to south) "Garlic Gulch" (or the north Valley, from Dearborn to the junction of MLK and Rainier), "Genesee" (from the junction to Alaska),
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The Valley is centered on Rainier Avenue South and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, its main (northwest- and southeast-bound) thoroughfares. Both Rainier Avenue South and the Valley were named after
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Italians were prominent in the north Valley in the early 20th century, the Central Valley was mostly settled by the same settlers and northern-European immigrants (primarily
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more accepting than the northern half of the city because of the relative lack of "deed covenants" found in the South End (covenants ruled unconstitutional by the
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in 1975, a wave of Vietnamese immigrants opened businesses along abandoned areas of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, extending four miles south of the official
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Martin Luther King Jr. Way South (usually shortened to "MLK Way"), formerly known as Empire Way (renamed in the 1980s), now carries Seattle's
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There are many different areas to purchase food within the neighborhood, with many small delis, bakeries and restaurants.
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Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Seattle; Including Bellevue, Redmond, Everett, and Tacoma
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poverty line. Nearly one quarter of the cities' African-American population resides in Rainier Valley.
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White explorers and settlers first arrived in the area in the 1850s, and an explorer named Issac Ebey
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the 1970s beset by "social, physical, and economic blight", tracing difficulties to the
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Aerial view of Rainier Valley, with downtown Seattle in the background, taken in 2001
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named; Holly Park and Rainier Vista. The housing projects were completed by the
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Lyons, William (1999). "Communities and crime on the south side of Skid Road".
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It is among the most culturally and economically diverse neighborhoods in the
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Map of Seattle with the general boundaries of Rainier Valley highlighted
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The Politics of Community Policing; Rearranging the Power to Punish
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28 homicides in Seattle in 2008, six occurred in Rainier Valley.
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Neighborhood of Seattle in King County, Washington, United States
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Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas — Rainier Valley
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Archived from 8: 932: 918: 910: 834: 820: 812: 621:SR 90 Final Environmental Impact Statement 547:Rainier Valley Historical Society (2012). 134: 120:Learn how and when to remove this message 539: 251: 211: 176: 164: 152: 745:Seattle 911 -- A Police and Crime Blog 762: 760: 399:The Civil Rights Act precipitated a " 241: 231: 221: 7: 58:adding citations to reliable sources 416:railroad, the reorientation of the 18:Rainier Valley, Seattle, Washington 668:Stiles, Marc (December 10, 2013). 637:The Politics of Community Policing 25: 741:"A map of 2008 Seattle homicides" 892: 891: 801:Rainier Valley through the years 739:McNerthney, Casey (2008-12-31). 272: 166: 154: 34: 45:needs additional citations for 606:University of Washington Press 1: 869:Lil Red Takeout and Catering 675:Puget Sound Business Journal 458:(Kenyon to Cloverdale), and 767:Christensen, Maria (2007). 375:United States Supreme Court 1493: 806:Seattle Post-Intelligencer 336:. It is part of Seattle's 947: 887: 849: 519:Seattle Police Department 370:Seattle Housing Authority 177: 165: 153: 144: 69:"Rainier Valley, Seattle" 1472:Neighborhoods in Seattle 941:Neighborhoods in Seattle 312:. It is located east of 1477:Rainier Valley, Seattle 843:Rainier Valley, Seattle 572:Lyons, William (2002). 392:, looking east towards 147:Neighborhood of Seattle 27:Neighborhood in Seattle 1064:International District 396: 859:Columbia City station 383: 454:(Graham to Kenyon), 450:(Dawson to Graham), 446:(Alaska to Dawson), 420:and the lowering of 384:1970 aerial view of 54:improve this article 1337:University District 1116:Industrial District 598:Steinbrueck, Victor 193: /  1342:University Village 1024:Central Waterfront 397: 197:47.536°N 122.275°W 1459: 1458: 1007:Broadway District 907: 906: 602:Seattle Cityscape 495:Pacific Northwest 264: 263: 130: 129: 122: 104: 16:(Redirected from 1484: 1451:Whittier Heights 1322:South Lake Union 1168:Lower Queen Anne 1019:Central District 934: 927: 920: 911: 895: 894: 874:Mount Baker Park 836: 829: 822: 813: 783: 782: 764: 755: 754: 752: 751: 736: 730: 729: 727: 726: 711: 705: 704: 693: 687: 686: 684: 682: 665: 659: 658: 632: 626: 625: 616: 610: 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Index

Rainier Valley, Seattle, Washington

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"Rainier Valley, Seattle"
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Neighborhood of Seattle
Aerial view of Rainier Valley, with downtown Seattle in the background, taken in 2001
Map of Seattle with the general boundaries of Rainier Valley highlighted
47°32′10″N 122°16′30″W / 47.536°N 122.275°W / 47.536; -122.275
United States
Washington
King County
Seattle
Area code
206
/rˈnɪər/
ray-NEER
district
Seattle
Beacon Hill
Mount Baker
Seward Park
Leschi

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