Mapping the inventory shows Seattle’s cultural hot spots
Here’s an environmental report that might not be as significant on a global scale as melting polar ice caps but, hey, what good is having a planet if it’s not filled with art and interesting people. As part of its effort to create spaces and foster the sustainability and growth of local arts organizations, the City of Seattle is creating an inventory a of its neighborhoods’ art spaces — including 28 on Capitol Hill.
How many cultural square feet are there in Seattle?
How many feet of art gallery space?
How many theater seats are there in Seattle?
Do artists typically own their spaces or rent them?
In 2013 our office set out to find the answers to these questions and more. From the largest to the smallest, we are counting every theater, gallery, arts office, rehearsal room, library, music club, museum, and cinema in town. The results of this ongoing inventory are available through the city’s open data portal.
(Source: Office of Arts & Culture)
(Source: Office of Arts & Culture)
The 28 spaces documented on Capitol Hill are below. They average around 7,000 square feet of space and have a surprising mean of 18 years in the location — the Seattle Asian Art Museum qualifies as the elder statesman of the group as the original SAM occupied the Volunteer Park building starting in 1933. Their home buildings tend to be old — 1933 is also the mean year the Capitol Hill 28’s home buildings were constructed. 19 of 28 rent. In sum, the spaces total around 3,000 seats.
More seats are coming. This fall, the theater space + office space + affordable housing project 12th Ave Arts will open near 12th and Pine. While some of the existing seats are threatened. CHS wrote about the early push for creating a Capitol Hill cultural district that would protect and create new arts space here in 2013.
Below are the spaces included in the dataset so far. If there are missing venues, you can let the city know via email.
The Capitol Hill Cultural Spaces
- Artist Trust
- Seattle Asian Art Museum
- Nortthwest Film Forum
- Elliot Bay Book Company
- Hugo House
- Seattle Public Library Capitol Hill
- The Project Room
- Annex Theatre
- FRED Wildlife Refuge
- Metrix Create Space
- Rainier Chapter House DAR
- Century Ballroom
- Crybaby Studios
- Neumos/Barboza
- Erickson Theater Off Broadway- Balagan
- Lee Center for the Arts
- Seattle Central Community College Broadway Performance Hall
- Velocity Dance Center
- Volunteer Park Ampitheater
- Washington Ensemble Theatre
- Frame Central/North West Framing
- Gage Academy of Art
- Ghost Gallery
- Photographic Center Northwest
- Pound Arts
- True Love Art Gallery
- Vermillion Gallery
- Longhouse Media
