I'm wondering about artists communities? (Seattle, Tacoma: 2015, apartment, for rent)

[Lmahoney]

Hi Seattle. I'm wondering about artists communities? I may have the opportunity to live in Seattle. I will have a day job (Amazon??) but would want space to be creative.
Desires:
- close to public transportation
- downtown living is good
- concrete floors / brick walls ok
- is a house boat reasonable? For living year round.
- Oh, and I'm not rich.

Can anyone be more specific about locations? It's hard looking at google maps for neighborhoods. Maybe you have a link to a neighborhood map?

Thanks for any help you may give,
LM

[Hemlock140]

Houseboat living is very expensive, and with new proposed city regulations it will go up far more very soon. They want to limit the number of live-aboards at each marina to just 25%.

The "artist" communities are Pioneer Square, Belltown and Downtown Ballard. Belltown. near the waterfront (Elliot Ave) has artists lofts and the Art Institute nearby.


I don't see Belltown on here (not an official neighborhood?) but it's close to the water between Queen Anne and Cascade.

Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas

Story about the houseboats:
Local News | Sleepless in Seattle: Will house-barge lifestyle slip away? | Seattle Times Newspaper

[Ira500]

Actually, Belltown, Pioneer Square, and Ballard are places that used to have a lot more artists, until it became too expensive for them to live there.
To me, the most creative community in Seattle is Georgetown. Where is Georgetown? Along Airport Way South, a couple of miles south of downtown, around Lucille Street. It's a vibrant neighborhood, kinda industrial, still relatively cheap, and really cool. great farmers and arts and crafts market, cool old brick buildings, unlike any other Seattle neighborhood.

[Vinylly]

As a full-time practicing artist in Seattle, I can give you a little history on 'Artist's Communities' here:
When I frist moved to Seattle, the cheapist place to live was a houseboat on Lake Union. I paid $25 per month for a one-bedroom houseboat. The more expensive ones were $45. They were kinda fun to live in but they had their inconveniences. When I got up in the morning, the floors were extreamly cold on my barefeet. It was extreamly difficult to find a spot to park your car, and all the houseboaters still have that problem. If you own your houseboat, upkeep and maintanence is extreamly expensive. If you rent a houseboat now, they are also exteamly expensive. Extreamly expensive maintenece means extreamly expensive rent.
Artist's Communities: When I first started renting space for a studio, it was Pioneer Sq. because most of the buildings had their upper floors unoccupied and it was the cheapist place to rent in Seattle. I rented out a 1,000+ sq. ft. loft on the top floor of the Collens Bldg. for $25 per month, no heat. All the floors were filled with artists, many were well known and many were graduate students and professors from the University of WA.
I then moved to the Howard Bldg., and it was also filled with artists. It was just across the street from the Pioneer Sq. Pagoda. My studio was also $25 per month on the back end of the third floor. The whole ceiling facing Eastward was filled with a ski-light, -the best studio lighting I ever had. Unfortunately the lawyers were moving into the Square and a lawyer from Bellevue bought the building and chased us artists out. He wanted the building for his law offices. Then I moved to the Smith Tower Annex, the rent got a little more expensive. From there it was uptown toward the Farmer's Market on First Ave. in the historic Colman Building. I rented out a huge top floor loft with another painter friend. All the upper floor lofts were filled with artists. We paid $100 per month. A Hollywood movie company moved in and produce a film called 'Cinderella Liberty' with James Cain. Rent the film and you'll see what the inside of the Colman Bldg. was like. Also the tavern scene in the movie was from the tavern downstairs. The city demolished that building and the artists had to vacate. Soon after, the King Dome was being built and the lawyers and yuppies were moving in and the rent got too expensive for artists. However an artist friend found a first floor storefront space in the Kaplan Paper Co. Bldg. on 3rd and Yesler, across from the Frye Hotel. The city of Seattle owned the building to store old office furniture and equipment but rented out the whole first floor to us for $100 per month for over 6,000 sq. ft. It was our first luxury studio because it had heat. A company from the mid-west bought the building, chased us all out, they added another floor to the building and modernized it. The lower floors are now occupied by little art galleries and the upper floors are devided into little cubicals which they call 'studio lofts', -ha, ha, ha. I guess you could call that an 'artists community'.
From there we moved to a storefront in Georgetown. The tavern owner next door owned the building and rented that space to us for about $300. Artists were beginning to move into Georgetown because Pioneer Sq. was getting too yuppified and expensive. The artist that shared space with me devorced her husband and split so $300 per month rent was too expensive for me.
I expanded the whole third floor on our Capital Hill home and made a studio out of it, so I no longer rent out studio space. I don't even know if there are any 'artist's communities' any more because rent for such space is just too expensive. I do know a few buildings around the city where artist's have formed a co-op and bought buildings for studio space. There is one near the old Rainer Brewery in Georgetown, Capital Hill, and one near the Government Locks in Ballard. However, as far as I know, artist's communities no longer exist as they once did.
OH, and one more bit of advise; if your not rich then Seattle is too expensive for you.

[Vinylly]

I just was at Dan Smith's Artist's Supply today on First S. and Dakota. By the front door he has a large bulliton board where artist's may post informaton, some of which list studios for rent. If you are an artist and want supplies or information, this is the place to go.

[L'Artiste]

Originally Posted by Lmahoney

Hi Seattle. I'm wondering about artists communities? I may have the opportunity to live in Seattle. I will have a day job (Amazon??) but would want space to be creative.

you were hired at amazon? in what position? can you tell me what its like working there? i have thought of applying there

[JenToland88]

If you are an Amazon employee, what they hell are you worried about? Even the custodians clean up (unintentional pun). I have a studio apartment in Belltown, and it costs just under a thousand; Yes, Virginia, it is possible to live cheap in Seattle. It just takes some creativity and a never-say-die attitude! If you want it, you can do it, especially as an Amazon employee (Don't mind me, I'm just a wee bit envious!)
My apartment IS my studio. When it's time to paint, I fold up my beloved Murphy Bed, and spread out a cheap shower curtain on the floor, set up the easel, and go to town (oh, yeah, and I disrobe, but that's more of a personal choice. Hint, though: Keep a robe handy, or risk being sued by Dominos Pizza).Should the day come when I make enough money to rent a studio elsewhere, I will consider doing so. But I say, as long as you're gonna do the starving artist bit, make due with the space you have.

[Kalex]

separate studio space anywhere around here is like searching for a unicorn. the only ones I've found in the last few months of searching were upwards of $400/month for a TINY space. There's a great spot down in the International District: Inscape Arts It's the ideal space with a wide variety of disciplines working, but there is a long waiting list. I'd really rather find something outside of Seattle - Renton, etc, but there's literally nothing.

[SitoUK]

Well, if you work for Amazon you might not have too much spare time to worry about art. Sorry, just my personal experience and one of the reasons I left the company

[CrazyDonkey]

Another area where artists have migrated to is South Park. See:

South Park Arts

Artists have also moved up to Everett:

Artspace Everett Lofts, Live Work, One Two Bedroom Home
http://3231creatives.wordpress.com/
Studio 52 Boston :: Community Artists Space Run By Artists For Artists :: Allston, MA
http://www.thesimsresource.com/downl...nt/id/1211070/
The Artists of Lowell Art Works
The Arts | Everett arts center revitalizes downtown, artists | Seattle Times Newspaper

Or down to Tacoma:

Spaceworks Tacoma | Vacancy to Vitality! Matching artists & entrepreneurs with vacant spaces to activate Tacoma
Welcome to TacomaCulture
https://www.facebook.com/JetArtistCooperative
https://tacomaarts.wordpress.com/category/art-at-work/