Welcome to Columbia City, a thriving multi-ethnic community in "Garlic Gulch" -- the historic Rainier Valley district of South Seattle. Columbia City presents a rich kaleidoscope of foods, cultures and ethnicities and a rainbow of good living options. The refurbished Masonic Temple is now a movie theater; on the other end of "downtown," the Columbia City Theater has become a hotbed of nightlife with frequent comedy and rock shows. Neighbors have pitched in and removed blackberries and invasive species to create Hitt's Hill Park on the City's highest ridge, replanted with beautiful native flora. Yes, a few descendants of the original Italian and Jewish residents still live in Columbia City; but their neighbors include Somalis and Ethiopians, Vietnamese and Koreans, African Americans, Native Americans, Chicanas, Chinese, Filipinos, and many, many more.

Our diverse spectrum is reflected in the many dining opportunities along the 4-block downtown strip on Rainier Ave. S: you have your choice of two barbecue joints, a soul-food emporium, Vietnamese Pho noodle soup, wood-oven pizza Napolitana, Mexican at El Sombrero or Villa Victoria, American comfort food, Italian seafood, a quality bakery/coffeeshop, or spongy bread with zingy sauces at any of several Ethiopian/Horn of Africa restaurants. Then there are the bars, featuring Northwest microbrews, martinis, and in some cases quality "pub grub" as well.

The snow and wind are behind us now. Join us for a walk through the neighborhood as spring splashes the landscape with vivid colors.

Images by Larry Neilson.

Art-ed Bus Stop and Wind Vanes directly down the hill from the Library. Weathervanes were part of a community art project and spread in clusters for miles along Rainier Ave.	Carnegie Library (1915) branch of Seattle Public Library
Columbia City Clock and Landmark District Marker	Rainier Ave. South - the Main Drag in Columbia City
Lottie's Lounge, Weed Building, & Columbia City Alehouse at Rainier and Ferdinand	TAF: Children's Computer Literacy Project Sponsored by Magic Johnson and H-P, in the Toby Building.
Geraldine's Counter, just across from Lottie's, features gourmet versions of American comfort-food classics at Rainier and Ferdinand	Flyer for Columbia City Beatwalk at Bookworm Exchange. Beatwalk is the monthly neighborhood gallery walk/pub crawl.
Hitt's Hill Park on the Site of Old Fireworks Factory	Columbia City Cinema on Rainier Ave. S
Mt. Rainier in Afterglow: View from Seward Park	Harvest Moon & Fishermen at Seward Park
Daffodils in Park March 2006                            Cherries in bloom March 2006 Salesperson at Wednesday Farmers' Market
Marquee Martini Bar & Tutta Bella Pizzeria. For panoramic view showing Columbia City Theater click here. at Rainier Ave. S & S. Hudson St
Rainier Avenue South, with Mount Rainier The distant cone of Mt. Rainier (at 14,410 feet one of the tallest peaks in North America) looms above its namesake, Rainier Avenue South, one of the main arteries of South Seattle. The surrounding Rainier Valley is colloquially known as "Garlic Gulch," for the large number of Italians who settled there at the turn of the 20th century. Truck farms and gardens prospered at first, but all was developed and paved over during the postwar boom.