List of neighborhoods in Seattle


Seattle, Washington contains many districts and neighborhoods. Former 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 century and early 20th century. 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, 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.
Establishing public library branches can define districts as well as neighborhoods. Public libraries are among the most heavily used buildings. Seattle elected its city council at large from 1910 to 2014, 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, 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 in the north of the University District was named for the neighborhood, as was the Latona School 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. BallardSunset Hill, 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 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 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 unenforceable, 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, 1995, and 2003 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 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 and were placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Neighborhoods. More recently, their number has been reduced. As of 2011, there are NSCs located in Ballard, Lake City, the University District, the Central District, West Seattle, Southeast Seattle, and Delridge.

Local Improvement Districts

A Local Improvement District 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 ', 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 Seattle Municipal Archives.
The following table is largely based on maps from the Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas, but also includes designations from other sources.
Neighborhood nameWithin larger districtAnnexedLocator mapStreet mapImageNotes
1North SeattleSeattleVariousNorth of the Lake Washington Ship Canal
2BroadviewNorth Seattle1954
3Bitter LakeNorth Seattle1954
4North Beach / Blue RidgeNorth Seattle1940, 1954
5Crown HillNorth Seattle1907, 1952, 1954
6GreenwoodNorth Seattle1891, 1954
7NorthgateNorth Seattlevarious 1891-1954
8Haller LakeNorthgate1954
9PinehurstNorthgate1953
10North College Park

Northgate1950, 1954
11Maple LeafNorthgate1891, 1907, 1941, 1945, 1949
12Lake CityNorth Seattle1953, 1954Before annexation to Seattle, Lake City was a township for 5 years. Lake City neighborhoods are now also known as Sand Point-Magnuson Park and neighborhoods northwest of Sand Point.
13Cedar ParkLake City1954
14Matthews BeachLake City1953
15MeadowbrookLake City1953
16Olympic HillsLake City1954
17Victory HeightsLake City1953, 1954
18WedgwoodNorth Seattle1945
19View RidgeNorth Seattle1942, 1953
20Sand PointNorth Seattle1910?, 1942?; 1953
21RooseveltNorth Seattle1891
22RavennaNorth Seattle1907, 1910, 1941, 1943, 1945The 1907 annexation was the former town of Ravenna.
23BryantNorth Seattle1891
24WindermereNorth Seattle1910
25Hawthorne HillsWindermere / North Seattle1910Of the area the Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas designates as "Windermere", many consider the area west of Sand Point Way to be a separate neighborhood, Hawthorne Hills.
26LaurelhurstNorth Seattle1910
27University District North Seattle1891Known in the 1890s and 1900s as Brooklyn. The main campus of the University of Washington is itself divided into the main campus, plus the large South Campus and East Campus, and a smaller North Campus and miscellaneous buildings west of 15th Avenue NE that are collectively known as West Campus. Beyond the university, the district has a shopping district known as "The Ave" and older neighborhoods such as University Heights and University Park that are nowadays rarely distinguished from the U. District as such.
28University VillageRavenna / University District1891, 1907, 1910Primarily, the name 'University Village' refers to a shopping center at a corner of what the City Clerk considers part of Ravenna, but it is also commonly used for the surrounding neighborhood on all sides, which ranges into what the City Clerk's maps consider Ravenna to the north and west and the east portion of the University District to the west.
29WallingfordNorth Seattle1891Includes historic Latona and usually Tangletown/Meridian
30NorthlakeLake Union / Lower Wallingford, spilling over into Fremont and the University District.1891
31Green LakeNorth Seattle1891Some people consider Meridian / Tangletown to be part of the Green Lake neighborhood.
32FremontNorth Seattle1891
33Phinney RidgeNorth Seattle1891
34BallardNorth Seattle1907
35West WoodlandBallard1891, 1907
36Whittier HeightsBallard1907
37AdamsBallard1907
38Sunset HillBallard1907
39Loyal HeightsBallard1907
40Central Seattle'SeattleVariousIncluding everything south of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and north of Yesler Way, and some things a bit further south.
41MagnoliaCentral Seattle1891
42Lawton ParkMagnolia1891
43BriarcliffMagnolia1891
44Southeast MagnoliaMagnolia1891
45InterbayCentral Seattle1891
46Queen AnneCentral Seattle, 1883, 1891Part of Lower Queen Anne was original 1869 Seattle; the area south of McGraw Street was annexed 1883, and the rest 1891.
47North Queen AnneQueen Anne1891
48East Queen AnneQueen Anne1883, 1891Annexed 1883 to McGraw Street, 1891 beyond
49Lower Queen AnneQueen Anne, 1883Also known as 'Uptown'.
50West Queen AnneQueen Anne1883, 1891
51Capitol HillCentral Seattle, 1883, 18911869: Broadway District was part of "original Seattle"
52Portage Bay / RoanokeCapitol Hill1883, 1891Annexed 1883 to E Lynn St, 1891 for the remainder. Includes the Roanoke Park Historic District.
53BroadwayCapitol HillThe Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas map of the Broadway District shown here extends farther to the east and west than most present-day Seattleites would call Broadway. It appears to correspond roughly the portion of Capitol Hill that falls within the original 1869 city limits, and which was known as Broadway before the name Capitol Hill was introduced.
54Pike-Pine Corridor / Pike/PineCapitol Hill / BroadwayThe Pike-Pine Corridor, running east-west through what the Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas considers the "Broadway" District, has gained a strong identity in the early 21st century.
55MontlakeCapitol Hill / Central Seattle1891, 1950, 1952, 1953 The Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas classifies Montlake as part of Capitol Hill, but a valley along Boyer Avenue separates it from the hill.
56StevensCapitol HillThe name "Stevens" doesn't have much currency for most of this area except for the immediate vicinity of the Stevens School at 19th Avenue E and E Galer Street. The small neighborhood just north of that is often called Interlaken, after Interlaken Park; the area centered around 19th Avenue and E Madison Street was known in the early 20th century as Renton Hill, but that name has largely passed out of use.
57InterlakenCapitol Hill / StevensConsisting largely of Interlaken Park and Louisa Boren Park, the neighborhood between Capitol Hill proper and Montlake also contains a small number of private homes and the Seattle Hebrew Academy.
58Madison ValleyCapitol Hill / Stevens / Central Seattle1883, 1891Annexed 1883 south of E Galer Street, 1891 for the remainder
59Renton HillCapitol Hill / StevensAlthough the name has largely fallen out of use, the Renton Hill Community Improvement Club, founded June 18, 1901, was Seattle's first community club.
60Madison ParkCapitol Hill / Central Seattle1883, 1891Annexed 1883 south of E Galer St; the remainder in 1891. The Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas classifies Madison Park as part of Capitol Hill, but a valley through the Washington Park Arboretum separates it from Capitol Hill proper.
61BroadmoorMadison Park1883, 1891Annexed 1883 south of the line of E Galer St; the remainder in 1891. A gated community within Madison Park.
62Lake UnionNorth Seattle / Central SeattleThe City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas uses the term "Cascade" to refer to much of the area around Lake Union, but that use is not at all common.
63South Lake Union, SeattleLake Union1883The City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas uses the term "Cascade" to refer to much of the area around Lake Union, but that use is not at all common.
64Cascade, SeattleSouth Lake Union1883Cascade, south and east of Lake Union originally extended west to Terry Avenue east to Melrose Avenue E DowntownIncludes former tide lands platted 1895, filled 1902. Southeast Downtown. Sometimes referred to as "Chinatown", the neighborhood also includes Little Saigon east of Interstate 5, and remnants of the historic Japantown, especially around 6th Avenue and Main Street.
75Yesler TerraceDowntownHousing project east of Interstate 5; originally, it extended further west into present-day Kobe Terrace Park.
76Central WaterfrontDowntown
77West EdgeDowntownThe downtown area of both the Central Business District and Belltown from roughly halfway between First and Second Avenues to Alaskan Way is sometimes called the Seattle's "West Edge".
78Central Area / Central District Central Seattle, 1883
79MannCentral AreaThe name Mann for this area around Garfield High School does not have much currency. It comes from the old Horace Mann School, later Nova, just north of Garfield.
80MinorCentral AreaThe name Minor'' for this area does not have much currency. It comes from the T.T. Minor School.
81Cherry Hill & Squire ParkMinor, 1905, 1921Portions are part of original Seattle; Squire Park was annexed in 1905, and a remaining enclave in 1921.
82AtlanticCentral Area, 1883The northern portion of this area was part of original 1869 Seattle; south of Atlantic Street was annexed 1883
83Judkins ParkAtlantic
84MadronaCentral Area, 1883South of E Howell Street was original 1869 Seattle; the remainder was annexed 1883.
85Madrona ValleyMadrona
86Harrison / Denny-BlaineCentral Area1883
87Washington ParkHarrison/Denny-Blaine1883
88LeschiCentral Area
89South EndSeattlevarious
90Rainier ValleySouth End, 1883, 1907North of Atlantic Street was original 1869 Seattle; in 1883, south to Hanford Street was annexed, and the rest in 1907
91Mount BakerRainier Valley, 1883, 1907North of Atlantic Street was original 1869 Seattle; in 1883, south to Hanford Street was annexed, and the rest in 1907
92Columbia CityRainier Valley1907A town for 15 years before it was annexed.
93Hillman CityRainier Valley / Columbia City1907South of Columbia City proper,
94BrightonRainier Valley1907The lakeshore next to this neighborhood was once called Brighton Beach, but has since been subsumed into Seward Park in common parlance and according to the Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas
95Dunlap / OthelloRainier Valley1907
96Rainier Beach / Atlantic City BeachRainier Valley1907
97Rainier View / LakeridgeRainier Valley1907
98Seward ParkSouth End1907
99LakewoodSeward ParkThe northern part of the Seward Park neighborhood is sometimes referred to as "Lakewood"; the entire neighborhood also sometimes referred to as "Lakewood/Seward Park". The historic Lakewood Community Club is now called the Lakewood/Seward Park Community Club.
100Beacon HillSouth End, 1875, 1883, 1886, 1907
101North Beacon HillBeacon Hill, 1875, 1883, 1886, 1907
102Mid Beacon Hill Beacon Hill1907
103Holly Park / NewHollyBeacon Hill1907Formerly the Holly Park housing project, now officially NewHolly.
104South Beacon Hill / Van AsseltBeacon Hill1907
105Industrial DistrictSouth Endvarious 1895–1910Tide lands west of Beacon Hill platted 1895, filled 1902. Other portions annexed 1907 along with West Seattle, Southeast Seattle, and South Park; 1910 with Georgetown.
106SoDoIndustrial District1895/1902Tide lands west of Beacon Hill platted 1895, filled 1902.
107Harbor IslandIndustrial District1910
108GeorgetownSouth End1910A city for 6 years before being annexed in 1910.
109South ParkSouth End1907A town for 5 years before being annexed in 1907.
110West SeattleSeattle1895/1902, 1907, 1950, 1954, 1956Tide lands platted 1895, filled 1902. West Seattle was a town for 5 years before being annexed in 1907. Some additional annexations 1950, 1954, and 1956, mainly in Arbor Heights.
111Alki PointWest Seattle1907
112North Admiral / Admiral DistrictWest Seattle1907
113Junction / West Seattle Junction / Alaska JunctionWest Seattle1907Overlaps Genesee.
114Seaview / Mee-Kwa-MooksWest Seattle1907
115Fairmount ParkWest Seattle1907
116GeneseeWest Seattle1907Overlaps Junction.
117GatewoodWest Seattle1907
118FauntleroyWest Seattle1907
119Arbor HeightsWest Seattle1907, 1954, 1956
120DelridgeWest Seattle / South End1907, 1946, 1949Most of Delridge was part of the city of West Seattle, annexed 1907; the remainder was annexed in 1946 and 1949.
121North DelridgeDelridge1907
122Pigeon PointDelridge1907The extreme northeast portion of Delridge, east of Delridge Way and north of Puget Park.
123RiverviewDelridge1907
124Highland ParkDelridge1907
125South DelridgeDelridge1907, 1946, 1949
126RoxhillDelridge1907
127High PointDelridge1907

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 the towns of Hillman City and York with other Rainier Valley neighborhoods, then incorporated for the only reason of being annexed. Similarly, the town of South Seattle consisted of mostly industrial Duwamish Valley neighborhoods ; one enclave adjacent to Georgetown omitted at this time was annexed 1921; some land near the river in this area remains part of unincorporated King County. In 1910 Georgetown was the last of this sequence of small incorporated cities and towns to be annexed to Seattle before the 1954 annexation of Lake City.
The following previously incorporated cities and towns were annexed by Seattle. This list is in order of annexation. Other areas annexed to Seattle, were unincorporated before annexation. Examples of the latter include the northern part of Queen Anne Hill, the University District, and the northern area of the city that were once part of then-unincorporated Shoreline.
  • Town of South Seattle, incorporated 1905, annexed 20 October 1905.
  • City of Columbia, incorporated 1892, annexed 3 May 1907
  • Town of Ravenna, incorporated 1906, annexed 15 January 1907
  • Southeast Seattle—Hillman City, York, and other Rainier Valley neighorhoods except Columbia City—incorporated July 1906, annexed 7 January 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

    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 for at least a year. Because of the tax revolt that took place in Washington in the late 1990s and early 21st century, 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 Bryn Mawr-Skyway, Lakeridge, and Earlington. Its 2010 population is 15,645.
On December 11, 2006, the Seattle City Council agreed to designate North Highline a "potential annexation area".