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Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine recognized as a top US neighborhood for arts

There are few better places for artists, designers, musicians and other creative minds to be than in Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine Corridor, according to a new national ranking.

Pike/Pine was named one of the “Top 12 ArtPlaces” in the country, citing it as a neighborhood “where the arts are central to creating places where people—residents and visitors—want to be.” Friday, dignitaries and city officials came to the neighborhood to celebrate the announcement with an event at 12th Ave’s Velocity Dance and a tour of some of the area’s most important arts destinations.


The 12 communities were chosen for successfully combining art, artists and venues for creativity and expression with independent businesses, retail shops and restaurants, and a walkable lifestyle to make vibrant neighborhoods, according to ArtPlace, described as “a collaboration of leading national and regional foundations, banks, and federal agencies.”

“Capitol Hill isn’t just a great neighborhood for the arts, it’s a great neighborhood because of the arts,” said Randy Engstrom, the city’s director of office of arts and cultural affairs.

Capitol Hill’s rankings included:

  • 3% – Percentage of Workers in Creative Occupation
  • 29 – Number of Arts-Related Non-Profit Organizations
  • 35 – Number of Arts-Related Businesses
  • 89% – Percentage of Independent Businesses
  • 511 – Number of Indicator Businesses
  • 97 – Walkability Score

Highlighted locations included:

  • Velocity Dance Center
  • The Oddfellows building
  • Vermillion Art Gallery
  • Vino Verite wine bar
  • Hugo House
  • Artist Trust
  • Cornish College for the Arts
  • Elliot Bay Book Company
  • Café Vita
  • Moe Bar
  • World Famous
  • Century Ballroom
  • 12th Avenue Arts Project
  • The Seattle Bike-In
  • Northwest Film Forum
  • Purveyors of Fine Magic Mural
  • Northwest Film Forum

“I think what’s really extraordinary about Capitol Hill is that we actually are fostering artists as the innovators and entrepreneurs that they are,” says Tonya Lockyer, the executive director at Velocity. “This isn’t a place where you dress up to experience the arts. In Capitol Hill you interact with the arts.”

The other winners include:

Brooklyn, NY / The intersection of Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope and Prospect Heights
Dallas, TX / The Dallas Arts District, with parts of Deep Ellum and Exposition Park
Los Angeles, CA / Central Hollywood
Miami Beach, FL / South Beach
Milwaukee, WI / The Third Ward
New York, NY / Manhattan Valley
Oakland, CA / Downtown, including Chinatown, Old Oakland and Jack London Square
Philadelphia, PA / Old City
Portland, OR / The Pearl District and a portion of Downtown
San Francisco, CA / The Mission District
Washington, DC / The intersection of Adams Morgan, U Street, and Dupont Circle

ONN/OF ‘light festival’
A reminder that an event combining art installations, performances and a few surprises continues Sunday in the old BMW facility near Harvard and E Pine. More on the ONN/OF festival here:

Where: The Old BMW Dealership

715 East Pine Street

Seattle, WA 98101

Saturday, January 26th 5pm – midnight : $10 all day (21+)

Sunday, January 27th 11am – 10pm : All Ages Free admission until 7pm / $8 after 7pm (21+)

ARTISTS

PDLTivon RiceNick BartolettiNat Evans & John TeskeGraham DowningMKNZ & Ross LaingErin Elyse BurnsBritta JohnsonJD BankeTaylor Pinton, Nko, Max KraushaarIzzie KlingelsJulie AlpertLindsey ApodacaDK PanNicholas Nyland, Baso Fibonacci, Eric Aguilar, Angelina, Anthony SonnenbergKlara GlosovaErin FrostXhurch and more!

WORKSHOPS

Laura Cassidy & Ria Leigh, Kate RyanIzzie Klingels

PERFORMANCE

Plankton WatAirportOnonosMidday VeilLori Goldston & Jessika Kenney Queen ShmooquanSgt. Rigsby and His Amazing Silhouettes

2013 Schedule

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4 Comments
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Braden
Braden
11 years ago

What the hockey sticks does city government, and in particular any one administration, have to do with Capitol Hill being awesome, artsy, and queer? Why in the world is there a photograph McGinn and some plaque being handed out?

Barf city.

Ha
Ha
11 years ago

For a few more months anyway until condo-wave drives us all south. Then it’ll be a top destination for High-end gyms and home of the hippest Ann Taylor Loft EVER

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[…] due to our strong rankings in this “who’s who in America’s arty neighborhoods, all of the planned Stunning Seattle mural locations will be on Capitol […]

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[…] As distasteful as it might seem, the entanglement of the arts and business on Capitol Hill appears to be part of the path to keeping the neighborhood’s culture alive if not thriving. Earlier this year, Pike/Pine was recognized as one of the most successful neighborhoods in the country for the meld of artistic and economic success. […]