Neighborhoods in Seattle

Seattle, Washington contains many districts and neighborhoods. Seattle mayor Greg Nickels has called Seattle "a city of neighborhoods." Early European settlers established widely scattered settlements on the surrounding hills, which grew into neighborhoods and autonomous towns. Conurbations tended to grow from such towns or from unincorporated areas around trolley stops from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Consequently, Seattle has suffered from transportation and street-naming problems.

Defining Seattle's neighborhoods

Because Seattle was established during an economic boom fueled by the timber industry (see Seattle#Timber town), the city's early years were characterized by hasty expansion and development, under which residential areas were loosely defined by widely scattered plats. This arrangement was further solidified by the establishment of locally-initiated community clubs, public libraries, public schools, and public parks, which created a sense of community and civic participation.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, Seattle’s community clubs became influential in the organization of public improvements. These had a significant effect upon the character of their neighborhoods and allowed them to remain distinct from the surrounding areas. Some community clubs used covenants to restrict the ethnicity of residents. (See also Covenants, below.)

Establishing public library branches can define districts as well as neighborhoods. Public libraries are among the most heavily used buildings. Seattle has elected its city council at large since 1910, and community clubs lobby councilors for the interests of local residents—such as for a library branch. The community organizations build a voting constituency, and in so doing define a neighborhood. In the absence of ward politics, this and campaign finance legislation are seen as more open alternatives. The Greenwood-Phinney Commercial Club was particularly active in organizing toward the Greenwood branch that opened in 1928. The Lake City Branch Library opened in 1935 as a few shelves of books in part of a room in Lake City School, shared with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), sponsored by the Pacific Improvement Club community group. The library moved into a new building in 1955.

Elementary public schools effectively defined many neighborhoods, which are often synonymous with the name of the elementary school when the neighborhood and school were established. Many of the neighborhoods contain a few smaller neighborhoods. Mann and Minor neighborhoods in the Central District, were built around their schools. The University Heights school (1903) in the north of the University District was named for the neighborhood, as was the Latona School (1906) in Wallingford.

Parks similarly define some neighborhoods. Madrona Beach and Cowen and Ravenna Parks were privately established to encourage residential development upon otherwise unusable land. The plan for Olmsted Parks fulfilled its goal and significantly influenced the character of neighborhoods around parks and playgrounds. East Phinney and West Meridian neighborhoods are sometimes called Woodland Park, as well as South Green Lake or North Wallingford for Meridian.

Covenants and racial restrictions

Housing covenants became common in the 1920s and were validated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1926. Minorities were effectively limited to the International District and parts of some neighborhoods in south-east Seattle for Asian- and Native Americans; or the Central District for Blacks, clearly defining those neighborhoods. Ballard – Sunset Hills, Beacon Hill, Broadmoor, Green Lake, Laurelhurst, Magnolia, Queen Anne, South Lake City, and other Seattle neighborhoods and blocks had racially or ethnically restrictive housing covenants, such as the following sample:

"No person or persons of [any of several minorities] blood, lineage, or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property ... except a domestic servant or servants who may actually and in good faith be employed by white occupants."

Further restrictions on conveyance (rental, lease, sale, transfer) were often included, effectively defining most of the neighborhoods in Seattle during the first decades after establishment.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1948 that racial restrictions would no longer be enforced. The Seattle Open Housing Ordinance became effective in 1968. Although unenforcible, legal complications prevent the covenants from being expunged from property title documents.

Wards and Little City Halls

Seattle initially adopted a ward system, however in 1910, this system was replaced by non-partisan, at-large representation. Variations on ward systems were proposed and rejected in 1914, 1926, 1974, and 1995, and convictions for campaign-related money laundering followed the 1995 campaign. Critics claimed that district-style elections of the city council would result in Tammany Hall-style politics. In 1973, inspired by Boston's model, Mayor Wes Uhlman's administration implemented a system of Little City Halls, where Community Service Centers (CSCs) assumed responsibility for coordinating municipal services. Uhlman's political opponents called the CSCs a thinly disguised ward system designed to promote Uhlman's reelection. CSCs became a setting for political arguments between the city council and the mayor; controversies over accountability, cronyism, and ward politics occurred in 1974, 1976, and 1988. In 1991 the CSCs were renamed Neighborhood Service Centers (NSCs) and were placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Neighborhoods.

Local Improvement Districts

A Local Improvement District (LID) is a method by which a group of property owners can share the cost of transportation infrastructure improvements. This involves improving the street, building sidewalks and installing stormwater management systems. Without Seattle's LID assessment system, the city would be unable to maintain its rapid growth in population and territory. LIDs have helped define neighborhoods by localizing decisions about issues like sidewalks, vegetation and other features of the public space, permitting neighborhoods to remain distinct from their neighbors.

Transportation

Minor arterial roads are generally located along the boundaries of neighborhoods, with streets and highways built according to the street classification system. These effectively help define neighborhoods.

Development in accordance with the street classification system maintains the quality of life of city neighborhoods and improves efficiency of the road system. The classification system discourages rat running through local neighborhood streets.

Transportation hubs, such as business zones and transit stations, such as Park and Ride facilities, provide focal points for districts of neighborhoods the same way trolley stops defined neighborhoods before cars.

Informal districts

No official neighborhood boundaries have existed in Seattle since 1910. Districts and neighborhoods are thus informal; their boundaries may overlap and multiple names may exist for a single district. Boundaries and names can be disputed or change over time. In 2002 a Department of Neighborhoods spokeswoman said, "I've seen my area go from the 'CD' to 'Madrona' to 'Greater Madison Valley' and now 'Madrona Park.' " Some neighborhoods, such as northwest Seattle, do not have widely-recognized names for their greater districts.

Throughout Seattle one can find signs indicating the boundaries of neighborhoods; the locations of these signs have been specified by the city's many community councils. However, the boundaries suggested by these signs routinely overlap and differ from delineations on maps. For example, signs indicate that Lake City Way NE is the southeastern boundary of the Maple Leaf neighborhood, while the city clerk's archival map places that district's southern boundary at 85th Street.

Another example of boundary ambiguity is "Frelard," which local residents call the area shared by Fremont and Ballard between 3rd and 8th Avenues NW. Signs facing opposite directions on NW Leary Way reveal the overlap.

Further difficulty in defining neighborhoods can result from residents' identification with neighborhoods different from those marked on signs and maps. After an acrimonious development dispute in 1966, a group of concerned Wallingford citizens enlisted the University of Washington Community Development Bureau to survey their neighborhood; the survey revealed that more residents of southwest Wallingford considered themselves citizens of Fremont than of Wallingford.

List of districts and neighborhoods

Despite complications in Seattle's system of neighborhoods and districts, the names and boundaries in the following list are generally accepted and widely used. They are based on the [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~public/nmaps/neiglist.htm Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas], which in turn is based on a variety of sources, including a 1980 neighborhood map produced by the now-defunct Department of Community Development, Seattle Public Library indexes, a 1984-1986 "Neighborhood Profiles" feature series in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, numerous park, land use and transportation planning studies, as well as records in the [http://www.cityofseattle.net/CityArchives/ Seattle Municipal Archives].

North End

Neighborhood Service Center (NSC) storefronts cover Lake City-North Seattle, University District-Northeast Seattle, Greenwood-Northwest Seattle, and Ballard has one for itself. NSCs are also called Little City Halls.

Ballard neighborhoods (Ballard map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1170S.htm], map North [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/north.htm]), Ballard was a former town for 17 years. Adams
Loyal Heights
Sunset Hill
West Woodland
Whittier Heights

Lake City neighborhoods (Lake City map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1040S.htm]), Lake City a former township for 5 years
Lake City neighborhoods are now also known as Sand Point-Magnuson Park and neighborhoods northwest of Sand Point. Cedar Park
Matthews Beach
Meadowbrook
Olympic Hills
Victory Heights

Northgate neighborhoods (Northgate map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1030S.htm]) Haller Lake
Maple Leaf
North College Park (Licton Springs)
Pinehurst

Northwestern neighborhoods Greenwood
Broadview
The Highlands, a large gated community including expansive golf fields.

University District (University District map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1120S.htm]).

In addition to the central, N, S, E, and W designations for the main campus of the University of Washington, the district has The Ave and now-obscure neighborhoods such as University Heights and University Park.

Central city

NSC storefronts cover Capitol Hill, Downtown, the Central Area, Queen Anne, Magnolia, and Lake Union-Fremont.

Magnolia (Magnolia map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1180S.htm], Central map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/central.htm]) Briarcliff
Lawton Park
Southeast Magnolia

Queen Anne (Queen Anne map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1200S.htm]) East Queen Anne
Lower Queen Anne (the Counterbalance)
North Queen Anne
West Queen Anne

Capitol Hill (Capitol Hill map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1210S.htm])
North Capitol Hill and Stevens were formerly Renton Hill. Portage and Union bays are convenient boundaries. Broadway
Madison Park
Montlake
Portage Bay (Roanoke or Roanoke Park)
Stevens (north Capitol Hill, Interlaken)

Cascade (Cascade map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1230S.htm])
(Northlake is usually south Wallingford, remote from Old Seattle by Salmon, Portage, and Union bays.) Eastlake
South Lake Union
Westlake

Central District, Central Area, or "the CD" (Central Area map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1280S.htm]) Atlantic (including Judkins Park)
Cherry Hill
Harrison or Denny-Blaine
Leschi
Madrona
Madrona Valley
Mann
Minor

Downtown neighborhoods (Downtown map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1240S.htm]) Belltown (north Downtown)
Central Business District (Old Seattle)
Central Waterfront (sometimes including upland neighborhoods such as "the Edge" or West Edge, west Pike Market or southwest Belltown)
Denny Regrade (northeast Downtown)
First Hill ("Pill Hill", east Downtown: residential Old Seattle)
International District (southeast Downtown; Chinatown)
Pike-Market neighborhood around Pike Place Market.
Pioneer Square (the former Skid Road neighborhood in the south part of Downtown; distinct from SoDo "SOuth of DOwntown", the northern portion of the Industrial District).
Yesler Terrace (southeast Downtown)

South End and West Seattle

NSC storefronts cover Southeast Seattle (the Rainier Valley neighborhoods, the South End Lake Shore Communities, and Beacon Hill), West Seattle, Greater Duwamish, and Delridge.

South End Neighborhoods (Rainier Valley map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1300S.htm], map South [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/south.htm]) Columbia City, formerly a town for 15 years, whose history is well preserved by the Rainier Valley Historical Society, at http://www.rainiervalleyhistory.org/
Hillman City (a burgeoning business district with an active business association at http://www.hillmancitybiz.org/)
Brighton (the lakeshore next to this neighborhood was once called Brighton Beach, but has since been subsumed into Seward Park by all residents and by the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods)
Dunlap (Othello)
Mount Baker.
Seward Park. Northern section sometimes referred to as "Lakewood"; entire neighborhood also sometimes referred to as "Lakewood/Seward Park" after the historic Lakewood Community Club, now called the Lakewood/Seward Park Community Club
Rainier Beach (Atlantic City Beach)
Rainier View (Lakeridge)

Beacon Hill (Beacon Hill map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1410S.htm]) North Beacon Hill
Mid Beacon Hill (term as used by City of Seattle, residents simply say "Beacon Hill")
New Holly (or Holly Park per City of Seattle)
South Beacon Hill (Van Asselt)

West Seattle (West Seattle map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1500S.htm]), West Seattle formerly a town for 5 years Alki
Arbor Heights
Fauntleroy
Gatewood
Genesee ("The Junction", Alaska Street and California Avenue)
North Admiral (Duwamish Head)
Seaview and Fairmount Park

Delridge (Delridge map [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/public/nmaps/html/NN-1550S.htm]) High Point
Highland Park
North Delridge
Riverview (South Seattle Community College)
Roxhill
Westwood (South Delridge)

Alphabetical list of neighborhoods

Annexation dates follow each name, unless the neighborhood was part of the original Old Seattle, that is, within the area of second incorporation, December 1869.

Date is as of the actual annexation, not the date of the prerequisite enabling city ordinance. Neighborhoods of most of the largest districts are listed under their district, such as West Seattle and Delridge. Ballard, formerly a town for 17 years, 1907 (includes the ambiguous area south of Ballard and west of Fremont often referred to as 'Frelard')
Beacon Hill, 1869, 1875, 1886, 1907; or several dates, 1883-1907
Holly Park, 1907
Mid Beacon Hill (Maplewood), 1907
North Beacon Hill, 1869, 1875, 1883, 1886, 1907
South Beacon Hill (Van Asselt), 1907
Belltown, second incorporation to E Howell Street, 1883
Bitter Lake, 1954
Blue Ridge, 1940, one of 1953 or 1954
Golden Gardens
North Beach
Broadmoor, 1883 to E Galer St, 1891
Broadview, one of 1953 or 1954
Broadway (nee Renton Hill)
Bryant (Ravenna-Bryant), 1891
Capitol Hill, second incorporation
Includes Broadway
Cascade, 1883
Central District, second incorporation
Atlantic (including Judkins Park) second incorporation to Atlantic Street, 1883
Cherry Hill/Squire Park , second incorporation
Judkins Park (Atlantic neighborhood but for W and S triangles), second incorporation to Atlantic Street, 1883
Madison Valley (Stevens neighborhood, Capitol Hill), 1883 to E Galer Street, 1891
Mann, Central District, second incorporation
Minor, Central District, second incorporation
Columbia City
Crown Hill, 1907; or 1952, 1954
Denny Regrade, second incorporation
Denny-Blaine (Harrison), 1883
Downtown, second incorporation
Includes Belltown, Central Business District (Old Seattle), Central Waterfront (including "the Edge" or West Edge), Denny Regrade, First Hill (Pill Hill, International District, Pike Market, Pioneer Square (Old Seattle; distinct from SoDo), Yesler Terrace.
Eastlake, one of 1883 or 1886, and 1891
First Hill, second incorporation
Fremont, 1891 (the Center of the Universe)
Georgetown, formerly a town for 6 years, 1910
Green Lake (may include Meridian, Tangletown), 1891
Greenwood, 1891 and one of 1953 or 1954
Harbor Island, 1910
Hillman City
Industrial District, tide lands platted 1895, filled 1902, 1907 along with West Seattle, Southeast Seattle, and South Park; 1910 with Georgetown.
Includes SoDo, SOouth of DOwntown.
Interbay, 1891
International District, second incorporation, tide lands platted 1895, filled 1902
Lake City, formerly a township for 5 years, annexed 1953 (now also known as Sand Point-Magnuson Park and neighborhoods northwest of Sand Point), 1954
Cedar Park, 1954
Matthews Beach, 1953
Meadowbrook, 1953
Olympic Hills, 1954
Victory Heights, 1953, 1954
Laurelhurst, 1910
Leschi, second incorporation
Lower Queen Anne (the Counterbalance), 1883; East Queen Anne 1883 to McGraw Street, 1891
Madison Park, 1891
Madrona, second incorporation to E Howell Street, 1883
Magnolia, 1891
Montlake, 1891, 1950, 1952, 1953
Mount Baker, second incorporation to Atlantic Street, 1883 to Hanford Street, 1907
Northgate, 1952 and 1953; or 1891-1954
Haller Lake, 1954
Licton Springs (North College Park), 1950, and one of 1953 or 1954
Maple Leaf, 1891, 1907, 1941, 1945, 1949
Pinehurst, 1953
Phinney Ridge, 1891
Pike Market (surrounding the Pike Place Market), second incorporation to E Howell Street, 1883.
Pioneer Square, first site of Seattle, second incorporation, plus tide lands platted 1895, filled 1902
Portage Bay (Roanoke or Roanoke Park) 1883 to E Lynn St, 1891
Queen Anne, second incorporation, one of 1883 or 1896, and 1891
Rainier Valley, second incorporation to Atlantic Street, 1883 to Hanford Street, 1907
Brighton (Brighton Beach), 1907
Columbia City, formerly a town for 15 years, 1907
Hillman City, 1907
Dunlap (Hillman City, Othello), 1907
Mount Baker, second incorporation to Atlantic Street, 1883 to Hanford Street, 1907
Rainier Beach (Atlantic City), 1907
Rainier View (Lakeridge), 1907
Ravenna and Ravenna-Bryant or Bryant, 1907 (town of Ravenna), 1910, 1941, 1943, 1945
Roosevelt/Maple Leaf, 1891
Sand Point, 1910, 1942, 1953; or 1953
Seward Park, 1907
Sodo (SOouth of DOwntown), tide lands platted 1895, filled 1902. Neighborhood of the Industrial District
South Lake Union, 1883
South Park, formerly a town for 5 years, 1907
South Seattle, 1905 (remaining enclave 1921)
Stevens (Interlaken), north Capitol Hill, south of Portage Bay (Roanoke)
University District, 1891
including Brooklyn, University Heights, University Park, and The Ave business strip
Central, N, S, E, and W of the main campus of the University of Washington
University Village (shopping center in south Ravenna), 1891 1907, 1910
Uptown (Upper Queen Anne) 1883 to McGraw Street, 1891 ["Uptown" is also used to refer to "Lower Queen Anne"]
View Ridge, 1942, 1953
Wallingford, 1891
including Latona and usually Tangletown; may include Meridian
Northlake (south Wallingford), 1891
Washington Park, 1883
Wedgwood (note spelling), 1945
Westlake, 1883
West Seattle, tide lands platted 1895, filled 1902; formerly a town for 5 years, annexed 1907; 1950, 1954, and one of 1955 or 1956
Alki, camp 1851, annexed 1907
Arbor Heights, 1907, 1954, 1956
Delridge, 1907, 1946, 1949 (though not all of Delridge was part of the City of West Seattle)
Highland Park, 1907
High Point, 1907
North Delridge, 1907
Pigeon Point
Riverview (South Seattle Community College), 1907
Roxhill, 1907
Westwood (South Delridge), 1907, 1946, 1949
Fauntleroy, 1907, 1954
Gatewood, 1907
Genesee (The Junction), 1907
North Admiral (Duwamish Head), 1907
Seaview (Mee-Kwa-Mooks) and Fairmount Park, 1907
Windermere, 1910

Annexations

Seattle annexed eight municipalities between 1905 and 1910, nearly doubling the area size of the city. Annexations by law were begun by the annexee and had to be approved by the Seattle City Council. The appeal of the inexpensive and accessible electric power and water system services of the public utilities were the primary motivations for the annexation movements.

Ballard was its own incorporated town for 17 years, annexed as its own ward. West Seattle incorporated in 1902, then annexed Spring Hill, Riverside, Alki Point, and Youngstown districts. It was the largest of the incorporated towns to be annexed. Southeast Seattle merged with the towns of Hillman City and York, then incorporated for the only reason of being annexed. Georgetown was the last of the small incorporated cities (towns, actually) to be annexed to Seattle before 1950.

Town of South Seattle, annexed 20 October 1905,
Neighborhoods of the Duwamish Valley, mostly industrial, except Georgetown
(Remaining enclave adjacent with Georgetown, 1921)
Town of Southeast Seattle
Rainier Valley neighborhoods except Columbia City
Hillman City
York incorporated July 1906, annexed 7 January 1907
Town of Ravenna, annexed 15 January 1907
City of Columbia (Columbia City), incorporated 1892, annexed 3 May 1907
Town of South Park, incorporated 1902, annexed 3 May 1907.
City of Ballard, incorporated January 1890, annexed 29 May 1907
City of West Seattle, incorporated April 1902, annexed 24 July 1907
City of Georgetown, incorporated 1904, annexed 4 April 1910
Lake City, incorporated township 1949, annexed January 1954

Towns annexed 1905–1910

The following towns were annexed by Seattle from 1905 to 1910: Ballard, incorporated 1890, annexed 1907
Columbia City, 1893-1907
Georgetown, 1904-1910
Ravenna, 1906-1907
South Park, 1902-1907
South Seattle, 1905-1905
Southeast Seattle, 1906-1907
West Seattle, 1902-1907

Future

Because of the cost of providing city services, low-density residential neighborhoods represent a net revenue loss for municipalities. Because vehicle-license revenue is no longer used to subsidize unincorporated areas, these neighborhoods have become increasingly orphaned.

In April 2004, the City Council voted to defer a decision on Mayor Nickels' proposal to designate the West Hill and North Highline neighborhoods, part of unincorporated King County, as potential annexation areas (PAAs) for at least a year. Because of the tax revolt that took place in Washington in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the county's budget has been reduced and the county has said it is unlikely to be able to maintain adequate levels of funding for urban services in unincorporated areas. The nearby city of Burien, however, has issued a 2004 draft report for its own annexation of all or part of North Highline.

North Highline, which adjoins SeaTac, Burien, and Tukwila in addition to Seattle, consists of the Boulevard Park neighborhood and part of White Center. West Hill, which abuts Tukwila and Renton as well as Seattle, consists of Skyway, Bryn Mawr, Lakeridge, and Earlington. Its population is 32,000.

On December 11, 2006, the Seattle City Council agreed to designate North Highline a "potential annexation area".

Translation of "Neighborhoods in Seattle"

French: Liste des quartiers de Seattle.