University District
Sometimes called a city within a city, the University District is really several neighborhoods surrounding and including the University of Washington. The U District (as it is called by local citizenry) came about in 1895, when the University moved from downtown Seattle to its present location overlooking Lake Washington.
As the University grew from 300 students to today’s 40,000, the neighborhood also grew, undergoing several metamorphoses. Introduction of the electric trolley helped the neighborhood boom. (Notice I said boom, but never bust.) Then the advent of shopping malls and big box stores changed the face of the business sector. Now the promise of resurgence is fueled by the new light rail line (expected to be up and running by 2016). This neighborhood will always be vibrant and vital as long as there are students at the University.
Museum of History and Industry
MOHAI MUSEUM OF
HISTORY & INDUSTRY
2700 24th Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 324-1125
MOHAI website
Map
First Thursdays Free
The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), located in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle, is "dedicated to enriching lives by preserving, sharing and teaching the diverse history of Seattle and the Puget Sound region." This is a great museum for kids and adults alike. Check out the MOHAI website MOHAI website for times, fees, events & exhibits on display.
The Ave
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University Way N.E. from Campus Parkway north to Ravenna Blvd.
Once a department store 8 blocks long, The Ave of today reminds one more of an eight-block-long global food court, with pubs and cool little shops sprinkled throughout. Obviously this is a great place to stop for lunch and a “cold one.”
The University District StreetFair
On The Ave
map
www.udistrictchamber.org/StreetFair/
Admission: Free
The University District StreetFair in mid-May signals the kick off of the Seattle area festival season. And let me tell you, it is a blow-out 2 day party that annually attracts more than 50,000 people. 
The Fair’s nearly 400 craft and food booths stretch down “The Ave” from NE 41st all the way to NE 50th, with three great music stages, a special children's area with age appropriate events, a special dog arena, a 24' rock climbing wall and ropes course and a wonderful medley of street performers. Bring the kids and join in this celebration of of arts and crafts, community, music, and food.
The University District Farmers Market
map
University Way NE and NE 50th
Website
Every Saturday, rain or shine, The University District Farmers Market opens up shop year-round at University Way NE and NE 50th from 9am to 2pm.
The market presents a surprising selection of fall and winter produce; an astounding variety of local, seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables from both sides of the state; herbs; wild mushrooms; fresh farmstead cheeses; free-range chicken and eggs; pastured organic beef, pork, fresh oysters and salmon; nuts, ciders and honey; fresh-cut flowers and nursery stock; fresh bread and other baked goods, as well as numerous jams, fruits spreads and condiments from local farm-grown products.
The Blue Moon Tavern
map
712 NE 45th St.
Seattle WA 98105
bluemoonseattle.com
206 675-9116
"A grubby oasis just outside the university's one-mile-limit Sahara, where poets, pedants, painters and other assorted wildlife make overtures to each other."
The Blue Moon, a U District landmark and the oldest still-operating tavern, first opened its doors in April, 1934. The tavern provided a haven for harried UW professors (such as Joe Butterworth) caught up in the Joe McCarthy’s anti-communist purge. In the Blue Moon’s heyday—the ‘50s and ‘60s—you could easily find yourself quaffing a frosty beer beside such literary luminaries as Tom Robbins and Theodore Roethke, Richard Hugo, Carolyn Kizer, Stanley Kunitz, and David Wagoner. Visitors included Dylan Thomas and Allen Ginsberg.
Henry Art Gallery
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University of Washington
15th Ave NE and NE 41st St
Seattle, WA 98195-1410
Phone: 206 543 2280
www.henryart.org
Free or Donation every Thursday 11am to 8pm
View over 20,500 art objects, including late 19th- and 20th-Century paintings, the extensive Monsen Collection of Photography, a textile and costume collection. But don’t ignore the burgeoning collection of cutting-edge works in new media, now evolving the fulsome Henry offering for the 21st Century.
Café on Premises.
Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture
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University of Washington
17th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: 206 543 5590
www.burkemuseum.org
Free 1st Thurs until 8pm
Open daily 10am to 5pm
In its 100-plus year history, the Burke museum has garnered worldwide recognition as a museum of natural history and culture. The Burke features changing exhibits for the general public to enjoy on subjects ranging from current research and recent discoveries in natural history to the finest traditional and contemporary cultural arts.
If your interests fall in any of these categories--anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, mammology, botany, ornithology, paleobotany, paleontology, geology, ichthyology, herpetology, arachnology, natural history, cultural arts--the Burke is the place for you.
Café on premises.
Waterfront Activities Center (WAC)
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3900 Montlake Blvd. NE
Seattle WA. 98195
(Located behind Husky Stadium)
Phone: 206 543 9433
http://depts.washington.edu/ima/IMA_wac.php
Canoe and Boat rentals, by the day and hour
Ghosting a canoe or a rowboat quietly through Lake Washington’s Arboretum or around the shoreline of Union Bay is good for observing the wildlife that abounds there. Carefully Explore the cattails and marshes for Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons, Coots, Wood Ducks and Grebes. And if you’re lucky, you might meet some beavers and muskrats.
It’s a great, green way to spend an hour or two, or a whole day, escaping the rat race.
University Village
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Between NE 45th St. & NE 49th Street on 25th Ave NE
www.uvillage.com
University Village is an open-air lifestyle shopping center that blends a combination of national stores and local retailers. There are over 100 captivating stores and shops, plus eighteen restaurants, cafes and coffee places.
University Village is as upscale as The Ave is funk, though each is trendy in its own special way.
