About the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard

Ballard has been called a city within a city. In fact, it was a city for just 16 short years until Seattle annexed it back in 1907. (Which explains, by the way, the Free Ballard bumper stickers you see from time to time.)

“Ballard was old Scandinavians,” explains Almost Live comedian John Keister, who cracked jokes about Ballard’s slow, elderly drivers back in the 90s. “Today, it’s a bunch of wealthy people who work in the information industry.”

Well, not everyone is wealthy, but Ballard certainly has transformed into a popular destination for 20- and 30-somethings. New condos, apartments and restaurants are sprouting up to accommodate the neighborhood’s rapid growth. Yet much of Ballard’s Scandinavian culture and fishing industry remains, and the neighborhood (we think) is Seattle’s best.

About My Ballard

We’re Kate and Cory Bergman (and that’s little Kai), a Scandinavian couple who started MyBallard.com in December of 2007. We both have long resumes in journalism — Kate spent years in local media until leaving King5 News to work on MyBallard.com, and Cory works at msnbc.com — and we noticed Ballard lacked a daily news source and community forum. My Ballard soon became the neighborhood’s most popular news site, even winning a community service award from the Ballard District Council.

As My Ballard grew, we started a company called Next Door Media and expanded to nearby neighborhoods: PhinneyWood for Phinney Ridge and Greenwood, Magnolia Voice in Magnolia, Fremont Universe in Fremont, Queen Anne View in Queen Anne, My Wallingford in Wallingford, Maple Leaf Life in Maple Leaf and Wedgwood View for Wedgwood and View Ridge. In late 2009, we won a national Online Journalism Award for community collaboration, beating out several large newspapers for the honor.

The biggest surprise has been the enormous role that all of our readers play in helping us cover the neighborhood. Unlike traditional news sites, My Ballard is powered by the community, not us. So if you see something interesting in the neighborhood, please let us know. New store? Road construction? Land use issue? Accident? Lost pet? Drop us a tip at tips@myballard.com.

Interested in advertising? Take a look at the details here.

- Cory & Kate Bergman (“Geeky Swedes“)
Next Door Media LLC
Ballard, Seattle
tips@myballard.com