[1] The area north of Portage Bay and west of Lake Washington has been inhabited since the end of the Vashon Glaciation approximately 16,000 years before present.

[4] The area now occupied by University Village was at that time a much larger Union Bay prior to the artificial lowering of Lake Washington.

The district was first surveyed in 1855; surveyors noted the presence of an existing trail used by indigenous communities as well as large Douglas fir and red cedar trees that impeded their path.

The first white settlers in the area, Christian and Harriet Brownfield, established their homestead claim west of modern-day 15th Avenue Northeast in 1867.

[5] In 1890, the district began to enter a growth phase, and the portion due west of the present University of Washington campus was laid out as the Brooklyn Addition.

This land was owned by real estate developer James A. Moore, his wife, and the Clise Investment Company and included much of the original Brownfield homestead.

[6] One year later (in 1891) much of the land north of the Ship Canal, including the future University District, was annexed by the City of Seattle.

[The] [c]oal tender shot ahead[,] tearing part of [the engine] car [(cab)] off and decapitating [the] fireman and killing [the] brakeman.

[5] The University of Washington relocated to the east side of 15th Avenue in 1895, leaving its previous location in the Metropolitan Tract in downtown Seattle.

The University Bridge opened on July 1, 1919, and carried automobile and streetcar traffic over the Lake Washington Ship Canal to Eastlake.

[5] An alternative proposal was to rename the area "UniverCity", in recognition of the urban character of the district and the major commercial presence along its main streets.

[4][5] During the Great Depression, commercial development slowed but federal New Deal programs provided funding to replace the University District's post office and improve local bridges.

[4] UW's enrollment grew after the end of World War II and into the 1950s, necessitating the expansion of the university campus beyond 15th Avenue Northeast.

The South Campus expansion began in 1960 and was completed a decade later after 42.8 acres (17.3 ha) of industrial land along the north side of Portage Bay had been redeveloped.

[10] The city council approved changes to the neighborhood's zoning code in 2017 to prepare for the opening of the U District light rail station.

[11] The new zoning designation allows for buildings up of to 320 feet (98 m) between Interstate 5 and 15th Avenue Northeast, with the exception of The Ave.[12][13] The University District subsequently entered a new period of growth with the construction of several high-rise residential towers that are primarily for student residents.

Light rail service connects the U District to Capitol Hill and Downtown Seattle to the south, and Roosevelt and Northgate to the north.

[25] The independent Grand Illusion Cinema was founded in a renovated dental's office in 1970 by Randy Finley and was run by the nonprofit Northwest Film Forum.