(Image: DEI Creative)

Organizers are hopeful for an increase in shopping traffic at Capitol Hill’s retail hot spots as a freshly created batch of Pike/Pine maps will be distributed throughout Seattle. Produced by the chamber of commerce and paid for by the Capitol Hill Block Party, these maps are intended to boost the reputation of retail in a neighborhood known for its nightlife.

“It’s important to maintain a healthy mix of daytime and nighttime in the community,” Michael Wells, executive director of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce told CHS. “That can only happen organically.

The nearly $10,000 budget for the maps came from the Capitol Hill Block Party to support the community where their popular venue takes place. Through the transition to a three-day festival attracting more than 30,000 people, Block Party organizers have increasingly worked with Pike/Pine residents and businesses affected by the festival to mitigate impact of the popular event.

While the Capitol Hill Block Party weekend can be quite lucrative for local restaurants and nightlife spots, retail spots such as Retrofit Home do not do as well, because as Wells points out, “no one is going to the Capitol Hill Block Party to buy a new sofa.”

The maps were illustrated by DEI Creative, a Capitol Hill design firm.

The maps are created on the premise that tourists to Seattle tend to do most of their sightseeing and shopping within the downtown area. Organizers are optimistic that the colorful map of Pike/Pine will drive that crowd up the Hill. Wells and his committee have partnered with the Seattle Hotel Concierge Association to display the maps in several downtown hotels as well as Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The map, mostly a marketing tool for tourists, indicates a healthy Capitol Hill retail community with over thirty destinations on the Pike/Pine corner alone.

While targeted at tourists, for people who live and work on Capitol Hill, the map can be considered a sort of economic barometer for the bustling neighborhood. With more than 30 destinations highlighted, the map seems to indicates a healthy Pike/Pine retail community.