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Wedgwood is a middle class residential neighborhood of northeast Seattle, Washington with a modest commercial strip. Wedgwood is located about 2 mile (3 km) north, and slightly east, of the University of Washington; it is about 6 mile (10 km) northeast of Downtown. The neighborhood is further typical of Seattle neighborhoods in having more than one name and having different, overlapping, but well documented definitions of the neighborhood. The misspelling Wedgewood is not uncommon—it is used by at least five businesses and even appears in the unofficial City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas—but the origin and spelling of the name are clear: the neighborhood was named after the English bone china maker Wedgwood, the favorite of the wife of Albert ("Al") Balch (1903–1976), the developer who named the neighborhood. Balch was also the founder of adjoining View Ridge. The Wedgwood Rock, a glacial erratic boulder 19 feet (6 m) tall by 75 feet (23 m) circumference became the intersection of a number of trails through dense, old growth forest that covered what is now Seattle. The neighborhood has adopted Big Rock after it was protected from housing development in 1941. One month later came the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The Great Depression put the Jesuits plans for the new campus on hold. Thorpe's cabin became St. Ignatius Parish in 1929; the congregation grew through the Depression years, although it was served at that time only by visiting priests. By 1940, the Jesuits had decided not to relocate Seattle University, and sold Thorpe's to Albert Balch at a loss, for only $22,500, barely a third of what they had paid for the land in 1929. A Catholic presence remains in the neighborhood: the parish of St. Ignatius became the parish of Our Lady of the Lake at its present location on 35th Avenue at 89th Street NE (c. 1961). When Balch obtained the land from the Jesuits, it was still "completely undeveloped, heavily treed, and with only one structure," Thorpe's cabin. Major development of the neighborhood began during World War II with defense worker housing; initial development was largely by Balch and his partner Maury Setzer. Balch and Setzer built 500 homes on 40 acres (160,000 m², 16 hectares), constituting the center of today's Wedgwood neighborhood. Al Balch was a direct descendant of 17th century New England settler John Balch. Possibly in tribute to this heritage, he had the firm of Thomas, Grainger & Thomas design the houses in the Cape Cod style. and each originally sold for $5,000); currently (as of 2005, 2006) all go for upwards of $300,000 ($22,800 in 1941 dollars The Earl J. McLaughlin Plat (between NE 85th and NE 90th Streets, and 30th and 35th Avenue NE) was filed in 1907, but at the time there was no city water or electricity in the area. Few lots were sold at that time, and those were sold cheaply. In 1917, Earl J. McLaughlin relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained active in real estate for 12 years, before emigrating to Canada. The large P Patch Community Garden near the west edge of the neighborhood, and the adjoining University Prep School and Temple Beth Am (Reform synagogue) are on land that remained a working farm as late as 1965. Wedgwood has Seattle's oldest and largest P Patch (mid 1960s); as of 2005, there are now 52 others. The "P" originally stood for "Picardo", the family who farmed the land (1922–1965). Just south of the old Picardo Farm is Dahl Playfield. Like the P Patch, it is former peat bog land, once known as the Ravenna Swamp. In the 1940s houses stood on part of what is now the playfield; at that time, Picardo Farm was the site contemplated for a park. However, after sewer lines were built along 25th Avenue NE in the late 1940s, houses began sinking in the peat; the city bought them out and turned the land into the "80th Street Playfield". In 1952, the bog caught fire: portions subsided as much as 5 feet (2 m), and the park was temporarily closed. Over the next few years, an estimated 75,000 cubic yards (57,000 cubic meters) of peat was replaced by fill dirt, and the park reopened. In 1955, the park was renamed after a former Park Board director, Waldo J. Dahl. In September 1992, the Wedgwood Community Council officially "adopted" the park. The Wedgewood Estates apartment complex on NE 75th Street between 37th and 39th avenues NE was purchased by the Seattle Housing Authority in 2001 in an effort to preserve a supply of moderately priced housing in this part of Seattle.

In 1916, Washington joined Prohibition, and north Seattle saw an upswing in commercial activity. Unincorporated areas of King County accessible by auto became popular locations for speakeasies selling illegal liquor and purveying prostitution and gambling, often in clever guises. One remarkable structure among numerous establishments was the China Castle, later the Jolly Roger, having a unique tower from which a watchman signaled the approach of police, visible from miles away. In the event of a raid, patrons and employees could leave via tunnels such as one under the highway, easily dispersing via the wooded ravine on the other side. The Jolly Roger continued as a popular dance hall and restaurant. It was designated a Seattle Historic Landmark in 1979. On October 19, 1989, the restaurant, located at 8721 Lake City Way (formerly Bothell Way) burned in an arson fire. The fire was somewhat suspicious, but only relative to its storied past. Police had neither motive nor suspects. Investigators were not able to determine how the arsonist got inside past a burglar alarm, with no signs of forced entry. At the time, the building had just been purchased the week before from the previous owner, with whom the buyer was entangled in legal and financial red tape. The previous owner was in the building removing his possessions the day before the fire. When firefighters arrived hours after the fire had begun in the basement, a man directed them. He seemed so sure of where the fire began that they assumed he was an employee. After the fire was extinguished, the man could not be found. The owners stated that he was not an employee. One year after the fire, preservation activists sought to have the structure rebuilt. Before their efforts got off the ground, the building was hastily demolished on January 11, 1991, obviating its appeal.

Mr. and Mrs. Nick Jacklin opened the first store in what is now Wedgwood in 1922, before either electricity or city water reached the neighborhood. The building still survives as the garage of a house in the 7500 block of 35th Avenue NE. Half a mile (0.7 km) north, McVicar's Hardware Store (1946–1986)—in the space in the 8500 block of 35th Avenue NE opened shortly after World War II. The shortage of consumer goods right after the war meant that some of their early stock was manufactured on site from war surplus. Adapting their business to whatever people in the neighborhood wanted to buy, as Wedgwood residents began putting in lawns and gardens, McVicar's sold them the requisite supplies; they sold specialty foods and rented out skis; they were also, for a decade, the only hardware store in the state licensed to sell beer and wine. They ran do it yourself clinics on everything from tools to gourmet cooking; in 1954, they were mentioned in a Time magazine article on the do it yourself trend. Today, there is a shopping district along 35th Avenue NE, with concentrations of stores at NE 75th Street and NE 85th Street. A small QFC store at the Wedgwood Center near 85th Street closed in 2021 and is planned to be redeveloped into a mixed use retail and residential building. The center also has the Wedgwood Broiler, a 1950s American style neighborhood restaurant and bar. The neighborhood's post office is located midway between the main commercial centers on 35th Avenue. On NE 68th Street, just south of what the city unofficially defines to be Wedgwood proper, is the Seattle Public Library Northeast Branch, the largest neighborhood branch and the second busiest public library, second only to the Seattle Central Library. The offices and retail store of Birds Connect Seattle (formerly the Seattle Audubon Society) is located in Wedgwood.

In 1946, Wedgwood residents formed Wedgwood Community Club, which lasted for several decades, but eventually petered out. In the 1980s this vacuum was filled by the current Wedgwood Community Council. The Musicians Emeritus Symphony Orchestra (MESO), Wedgwood's non profit community orchestra, was founded in 1971 by Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman. MESO was originally intended specifically for older musicians, and as of 2008, the oldest is 91 years old, but now the orchestra includes players of all ages. In 2009 MESO changed its name to Seattle Festival Orchestra (SFO). Currently SFO rehearses and performs in the Wedgwood neighborhood. Four times a concert season, SFO performs at the University Prep Academy.