- When View Ridge was developed for homes, there was a ridge, but no views. Lake Washington was nearby, but you couldn’t see it for the trees. During the Great Depression, two veterans of radio broadcasting changed that. With $25 down, they started clearing land and grading streets. By masterfully managing publicity, partners Al Balch (1903-1976) and Ralph Jones (1903-1996) outpaced better financed projects nearby. View Ridge became a neighborhood in northeast Seattle just west of Sand Point.
- Seattle — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
Seattle is the largest city in Washington state and its economic capital. Settled in 1851, its deep harbor and acquisition of Puget Sound’s first steam-powered sawmill quickly established it as a center of trade and industry. It gained the Territorial University (now University of Washington) in 1861, but was snubbed by the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1874 when it picked Tacoma as its western terminus. Despite this, the town prospered thanks to independent railroad development fueled by local coal deposits…