It has a landmark-protected historic business district and is one of the few Seattle neighborhoods with a long history of ethnic and income diversity.

The area was once dense conifer forest, primarily inhabited by Coast Salish peoples, until the arrival of the Rainier Valley Electric Railway from Downtown Seattle in 1891.

The result has been widespread gentrification, including the restoration of many of the older homes and, in the last several years, the building of numerous condos and the planned construction of several hundred more.

[10] As of 2008, Columbia City is one of Seattle's most diverse neighborhoods in terms of income and ethnicity, encompassing everything from public housing to multimillion-dollar view homes.

Today, the thriving pedestrian business district along Rainier Avenue S. is home to six bars, a grocery store, a number of restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, assorted retail, an art gallery, fitness facilities, a fraternal clubhouse, a movie theater, and multiple live music venues.

Housing stock include craftsman bungalows, a mix of market-rate and low-income apartment buildings, and townhome developments.

Rainier Vista, once a post-war suburban public housing project, has been redeveloped into a mixed-use, mixed income community built around the light rail station, and includes more than 900 new homes (some subsidized, some rental, some owner-occupied).

Beatwalk is a live music series on the streets and in business within the Historic District, happening on second Sundays of June through September.

A farmer's market operates May to mid-October along S Edmunds St with many in the neighborhood gathering for a dinner picnic in adjacent Columbia Park.

Fest West is an accessible community music festival driven by the energetic performances of street bands in public spaces.