Seattle Press on Line - A Drive Through Lake City's Watershed Moments

Lake City

A Drive Through Lake City's Watershed Moments

By Roberta Cruger

Feb 28, 2002 -- Most know Lake City from the drive along "The Strip"--Lake City Way--packed with mini-malls, auto dealers, car repair shops, and fast food chains among the over 400 businesses in the commercial district. But basing an impression on this arterial would be like judging Greenwood by Aurora.

"Lake City is more than meets the eye," says Deirdre Grace, the Neighborhood Development Manager for the Northeast sector.

State Highway 522, first paved in 1911, was called Bothell Way and Seattle city limits ended at Ravenna. City folk took leisurely drives through the country cutting across Lake City. Duck clubs, boathouses, campsites and cabins for the affluent dotted the district. The Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern Railway advertised excursions up the shores of Lake Washington and a popular picnic stop was Lake City. "It was an early version of the Spirit of Washington," suggests Victoria Stiles, Director of the Shoreline Historical Museum.

The surrounding land was first surveyed by the U.S. government in 1855, when the Tuobedabsh people still occupied the Thornton Creek watershed, Stiles explained. Puget Mill bought most of the property, reselling it to timber firms. In 1904 Clyde Chittenden purchased 740 acres between NE 115th and 145th Streets for a logging camp and then turned it over to Homer Hillman who platted the land.

Brickyards, shingle companies and pre-industrial businesses shared the area with farms. A dairy stood where Nathan Hale High sits today. In the '30s Pan American Airlines offered service to Alaska from Matthews Beach. And the Burke-Gilman trail, named after the railroad founders, now follows those tracks.

Seattle's annexation marched northward in 1943 but didn't scoop up Lake City until 1954. The post-war boom was a boon to this travel corridor and subdivisions stretched from "gold coast" lakeside homes inland to more-affordable ranch houses, drive-ins and shopping centers. The growth surge created a suburban-style dream within the city, where convenience mixed with the comforts of country life.

The landscape ranges from woodsy bluffs to expansive vistas of mountains, lake beaches, a babbling brook and bucolic trails, as well as the bustling congestion of a vigorous business district. This 4.5-square-mile portion of Seattle, ranging from NE 95th Street to NE 145th Street between 15th Avenue NE and Lake Washington, boasts several different neighborhoods including Pinehurst, Victory Heights, Olympic Hills, and Maple Leaf. Apparently, there's a 50/50 split with residents considering themselves part of Lake City or simply the North District.

Diversity spans geographic, economic and cultural boundaries, and Lake City's recent development has continued to exceed projections. Fourteen hundred more dwellings are planned. As a new destination for immigrants, the ethnic population doubled recently to reach 18 percent.

Yolanda Martinez, Coordinator of the Lake City Neighborhood Service Center, has lived and worked in Lake City for two decades, witnessing this expansion. "It's a re-evolution," she says of young families moving back home and lower rents rising as property values zoom. Yet she's most proud of her supportive neighbors and their active volunteerism. "They are the nicest people--generous with time, money and effort."

Perhaps this strong civic tradition comes from old '50s values, the era when the area sprouted overnight. Task Forces and Citizen Patrols beautify neighborhoods and crime-watch. The Rotary, Elks and Kiwanis Clubs are alive and well and the Lions Community Center raised $150,000 to expand the library. Grassroots contributions are further fed by a robust Chamber of Commerce.

Celebrating its 60th Anniversary this August, Lake City's Pioneer Days pre-dates SeaFair. "It began as an end-of-summer harvest festival with horses and farm equipment," recalls Betty Bartholomew, owner of Arts'n'Flowers. Those small tight rural communities have turned more metropolitan, she reflects. Today the parade starts at All Star Toyota with floats and marching bands heading down Lake City Way, and the Salmon Bake, though still cooked on green alderwood, is in a 30-foot parking lot bar-b-que not Indian-style pit in the ground.

"Seems we got out of the horse stage straight into the car, overnight," says Virgil Flaim, who runs the Lake City Community Center and is an active member of what used to be called the Bearded Vigilantes, which raises funds for needy kids. He remembers with a chuckle, "There were no parking problems back then."

Watching business leaders and residents implementing Seattle's 20-year Neighborhood Plan impresses Deirdre Grace of the Department of Neighborhoods: "Lake City is blessed with a wonderful group of committed citizens and one of the most organized and effective."

Neal Lessenger, Vice-Chair of the Stewardship Committee for the plan, lists dozens of volunteers devoted to service and working on Lake City improvements, including Dick Harris of Alley Chevrolet and Cheryl Klinker who heads up the Thornton Creek Alliance to restore the watershed.

He explains the centerpiece of the vision is a civic core with a plaza that connects public places and open spaces--the post office, Albert Davis Park and the library, an award-winning building designed by John A. Morse in 1965, and Lake City's first designated historical landmark.

The facelift's progress is challenged by traffic congestion and the much-needed costly sidewalks and curbs for pedestrian safety. Yet accomplishments already in effect with the first phase include a Farmer's Market this summer and the overnight success of the food bank, swelling with 800 families a week instead of the anticipated 150. "Everyone's been a hero," says Grace of the programs.

Lake City may be Seattle's latest little-known secret. Highlights abound, from Civic Light Opera, the Pioneer Days Festival, seven-acre Meadowbrook Recreation Center to Cedar Park Arts Center. Old-fashioned flavors are found at Baker's Sweet Parlour and Fountain (since 1929) and second-generation Gillis Clock & Watch store, classic Hill's Barber Shop and Cranium's Cool Collectibles which specializes in vinyl records. The appeal lies in retro charm, mid-century vintage. Even Lake City's name evokes the '50s.

As Lessenger reflected, the automobile developed Lake City and still brings buyers, but it's the spirit of community values that keep the vital northeast corner of Seattle changing with the times while maintaining its original character.

It's where the rubber meets the road.

Reader Comments

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chick	Dec 02, 2002	phoenix,az	chef
let us not forget Dick's Drive in


Gee Gee Mainini	Apr 20, 2004	San Miguel, CA	rancher/archivist
I am interested in news articles from the late 1800's into the 1900's regarding Homer Hillman or Clarence Hillman with inclusion of all references to the family...Ruth, Charles, Bessie Olive, Genie. I would like to know how to get the birth records of the early 1900's as well...Thank you....