Denny Hill – Maps

People often ask me about Denny Hill, what it looked like and where was it. Below are a series of maps and one photograph that show the location of the hill and some of its topography.

This is one of the earliest known photographs of Denny Hill, showing it after it has been logged somewhat.

denny hill photo 1878Below is the first illustration of the hill. Note how few homes are on the hill. Hard to get a feel for the topography.

Bird's Eye 1878Twelve years later and the hill has been much more developed, especially with the addition of the Denny Hotel and many homes.

 

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1897 Topo Map Denny Hill

Probably the best topographic map of Denny showing the two summits, each about 240 feet above sea level.

1899 topo

1904 Topo Map Denny

The one post regrade map of Denny Hill shows what happened after the regrades lowered the land.

1917 DennyA modern topographic map of Seattle showing the flattened landscape. Note the modern high point at 1st and Virginia.

Modern map

 

4 thoughts on “Denny Hill – Maps”

  1. Very interesting! I always pictured the summit of Denny hill closer to Lake Union. The ‘peak’ seem to have been at 3rd and Stewart.

    1. Jim, there were two summits. One, as you note, at 3rd and Stewart, and another at 4th and Blanchard. Each was about 240 feet above sea level, as compared to Capitol Hill at about 420 feet and Queen Anne a bit higher. David

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