Eastlake is a
neighborhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, so named because of its location on the eastern shore of
Lake Union
Lake Union is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east to ...
. Its main thoroughfare is Eastlake Avenue E., which runs from Howell Street at the northeast corner of
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
north over the
University Bridge to the
University District, where it connects to Roosevelt Way N.E. and 11th Avenue N.E. A second thoroughfare is Boylston Avenue E.; as an
arterial
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pul ...
, it parallels
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
for the four blocks between E. Newton Street to the south and E. Roanoke Street to the north, acting as an extension of
Capitol Hill's Lakeview Boulevard E.
Characteristics
Eastlake is bounded on the west by Lake Union; on the north by
Portage Bay
Portage Bay is a body of water, often thought of as the eastern arm of Lake Union, that forms a part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle, Washington.
To the east, Portage Bay is connected with Union Bay—a part of Lake Washington— ...
, beyond which is the University District; on the east by Interstate 5, beyond which is Capitol Hill; and on the south by E. Galer Street, beyond which is the
Cascade
Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to:
Science and technology Science
*Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls
* Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex)
* Cascade (grape), a type of fruit
* Bioc ...
and
South Lake Union
South Lake Union (sometimes SLU) is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because it is at the southern tip of Lake Union.
The official boundaries of the City of Seattle Urban Center are Denny Way on the south, beyond which is Den ...
neighborhoods.
The neighborhood contains a mixture of residential buildings, both houses and apartments, and small businesses, especially on Eastlake Avenue. Though populated by all manner of Seattleites, Eastlake is a particularly attractive location for people with ties to the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, which can be reached quickly by a number of bus routes. The neighborhood is also home to, among other things, stores, restaurants, the original
Red Robin
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., more commonly known as Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews or simply Red Robin, is an American chain of casual dining restaurants founded in September 1969 in Seattle, Washington. In 1979, the first franchised ...
gourmet burger restaurant (now closed), a bakery, and numerous
houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...
s.
History
Victor Steinbrueck
Victor Eugene Steinbrueck (December 15, 1911 - February 14, 1985) was an American architect, best known for his efforts to preserve Seattle's Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market. He authored several books and was also a University of Washingto ...
wrote of the neighborhood in 1962 that it was "progressing from a generally mediocre residential community to one of apartments and small business and offices."
Near the north tip of the neighborhood is a pseudo-Norman French building known as the Martello, which the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods characterizes as "one of Eastlake's most significant buildings." Built as a private home in 1916, it was remodeled in the 1920s by
Fred Anhalt
Frederick William Anhalt (March 3, 1896 – July 17, 1996) was a builder and contractor who constructed many distinguished rental apartment buildings in Seattle, Washington in the 1920s and early 1930s. In 1993, the Seattle Chapter of the Am ...
as a furniture store. For many years it was a tavern, later a bar, called Rapunzel's;
Summary for 3240 Eastlake AVE / Parcel ID 1959703120 / Inv # EA003
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Accessed online 2009-07-15. it is now Sebi's Bistro.
Eastlake Shake Fair
The annual Eastlake Shake fair (renamed Lake Fest in 2006) is held in a closed-off section of Franklin Avenue E. between E. Roanoke and E. Louisa Streets on the playground of the TOPS@Seward public school. The fair features live music, local vendors, and—a neighborhood favorite—the Eastlake Shake Pet Parade.
Independent Petanque Club of Eastlake
In 2006 a group of Eastlake residents and friends transformed the E. Louisa street end on Lake Union into a park whose focus is a pétanque
Pétanque (, ; oc, petanca, , also or ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls ...
court called the Eastlake Boulledrome. Built from granite curbs recycled from Pioneer Square and pitching mound material from Safeco Field
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
, it is now the "home field" for the Independent Petanque Club of Eastlake. The project cost $15,000, which was awarded from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods' Neighborhood Matching Fund.
Notable residents
Current notable Eastlake residents include retired four-star General Andrew J. Kelly, and 2002 America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
runner-up Elleson Schurtz.
Sleepless in Seattle
Eastlake is also home to Seattle's highest concentration of floating homes (a.k.a. houseboats), the likes of which were made famous in the 1993 film ''Sleepless in Seattle
''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who, despite be ...
.'' Their architectural styles range from the bohemian-eclectic to exuberant stucco-modern. New construction of houseboats taking place on Fairview Ave. E. is underway, with the slips alone often selling for over $1 million.
References
External links
Eastlake Community Council (ECC)
* ttp://www.lake-fest.com/ Lake Fest websitebr>Flickr: Eastlake photo pool
{{Seattle neighborhoods
Streetcar suburbs
Houseboats