2. Ballard Avenue NW at NW Market Street

Ballard Avenue NW is now protected as a local and national historic district, which was dedicated on April 11, 1976, by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden. The main street of "Old Ballard" was gradually abandoned as the neighborhood's business district relocated to NW Market Street. Thus, Ballard Avenue's newest structures are found at its intersection with Market. This is anchored on the west by the present home of an Indian restaurant, originally built in 1923, and on the east by an older two-story building from 1903, now home of an Italian restaurant. If nothing else, these dueling eateries demonstrate that there's more than lutefisk to eat in Ballard.

Note that Ballard Avenue NW runs southeast from NW Market Street. We will refer to its opposite sides as east and west (closest to the water) as we proceed down the avenue.

The vaguely Art Deco home of the Ballard Family Center was built in 1920, adjacent to the older former Princess Hotel at 5443-5447 Ballard NW, which dates from 1903. The incongruous Mission Style facades of the Ballard Smoke Shop and Vik Apartments a few doors east reflect the fad for California architecture which spread north in the mid-1920s. Across the street, Marley's Snowboards and The Grape Wine Shop & Bistro occupy a 1906 commercial building. A little farther stands a vacant 1908 building that was the original home of Ballard's Eagle's Lodge and the printing plant for the Ballard Tribune.

The nearby Burk's Cafe, a Cajun restaurant, occupies a converted 1890s house a few steps farther east. The south side of the block ends at a handsome two-story brick structure built in 1901. Once a J.C. Penny's department store, its main tenant now is The Paint Patch crafts shop.

Courtesy Walt Crowley

Courtesy Walt Crowley

Courtesy Walt Crowley

Courtesy Walt Crowley