Free Ballard is a walking tour of Seattle's Ballard neighborhood that I developed, marketed, and led. It was offered through Seattle Free Walking Tours, a local nonprofit, for 19 weeks over the summer of 2013.
A happy Free Ballard tour group, August 2013
Tour description on website
Seattle is a city of neighborhoods, so get off the beaten path and let us introduce you to our favorite, Ballard. This hotbed of music, art, and affordable cuisine refuses to admit it was annexed to Seattle over a hundred years ago, and still has a unique Old-West-meets-Scandinavian flavor. This tour only happens once a week, during the Farmers Market (do your shopping first!), and will not only show you around the Ballard Ave Landmark District, but will orient you to other attractions in the area such as the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and the Nordic Heritage Museum.
The tour receiving smoked salmon samples from David at Wilson Fish at the Ballard Farmers' Market. Photo courtesy of Andrea Brown, The Herald.
"Every Sunday, Roxy Glick stands in Ballard's Bergen Place Park, holding a green and white sign. It's her way of welcoming people to her neighborhood..."
-Andrea Brown
Free Ballard tour posing with the Centennial Bell Tower, June, 2013
Tour Excerpt
We are standing on the site of the old Ballard City Hall. Unfortunately it was destabilized in an earthquake in 1965 and was torn down before Ballard was a protected landmark district. This site remained the heart of Old Ballard and in 1989 this Centennial Bell Tower was built using the original columns and bell from the city hall to celebrate 100 years of Ballard, Washington! Of course, Ballard was only actually a city for 18 of those years, but we, in Ballard, choose to ignore that detail.
The day Ballard was annexed to Seattle in 1907, the City Hall flew its flag at half mast and draped the building in a black crepe to mourn the death of the city. But what is truly remarkable is that one hundred years later, in 2007, the Ballard Chamber of Commerce draped this Bell Tower in black, wore black armbands, and silently marched down Ballard Ave to drink at their favorite establishment, wishing they could leave the Ballard Bridge up for a day. This might have been for a good reason, however, because Seattle is believed to have coerced Ballard into annexation by leveraging access to drinking water.
Marketing Collateral
Rack cards I designed for Free Ballard, ready to print.
Route Maps
First draft, route map
Second draft, route map
Final route map
