neighborhood
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...
located in northeast
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
.
History
The area that is now the Maple Leaf neighborhood appeared on maps in 1894 as a plat by real estate promoters and was called the Maple Leaf Addition to the Green Lake Tract. The name may have come from the Maple Saw Mill that operated to the east on Lake Washington or from some maple trees that once grew in the area. There is also an apocryphal story that Maple Leaf was so far north of downtown Seattle that it got its name for being near Canada.
It wasn't until after World War II that the entirety of Maple Leaf neighborhood was within the Seattle city limits. Prior to 1954 the city line was located at 85th Street, but after a series of annexations took place the city limits moved to its current location of 145th Street.
Neighborhood of the Year
In 1986 Maple Leaf was given the title of national "Neighborhood of the Year" by Neighborhoods USA. Seattle Mayor
Charles Royer
Charles Theodore Royer (August 22, 1939 – July 26, 2024) was an American news reporter and politician who served as the 48th mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1978 to 1990. After serving as mayor of Seattle, Royer became the director of the H ...
nominated Maple Leaf for the award.
Boundaries and geography
Although Seattle neighborhood boundaries are unofficial, Maple Leaf lies between
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, 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 thro ...
in the west and State Route 522 (also known as Lake City Way) in the east. The neighborhood goes as far north as Northgate Way and as far south as NE 75th Street.
Bordering neighborhoods include Roosevelt neighborhood to the south; Pinehurst and Victory Heights neighborhoods of the Northgate district to the north;
Lake City
Lake City may refer to:
Places
*Lake City, Arkansas
* Lake City, California (disambiguation)
*Lake City, Modoc County, California
* Lake City, Nevada County, California
*Lake City, Colorado
*Lake City, Florida
* Lake City, Georgia
* Lake City, I ...
and
Wedgwood
Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...
neighborhoods to the east; North College Park or Licton Springs neighborhood to the west.
The highest point in Maple Leaf, located on 92nd Street and Roosevelt Way, is 466 feet above sea level, making it the third highest point of elevation in Seattle.
Distinctive features of the neighborhood include the
water tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
and
reservoir
A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.
Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
located at 85th and Roosevelt, plus historic
Waldo Hospital
Waldo may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Waldo (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Waldo (surname), a list of people
* Waldo (footballer), Brazilian footballer Waldo Machado da Silva (1934–20 ...
at 85th NE and NE 15th, which has since been replaced by an Aegis Living senior housing complex. The water tower is painted with a distinctive coupling of
maple
''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
leaves viewable from Interstate 5.
Park and reservoir
The Maple Leaf reservoir was completed in 1910 with the purpose of creating a reservoir for residential and commercial water use. In 2009 the Seattle city government began plans to move the reservoir underground. This was part of a citywide plan to replace all open reservoirs with underground structures in order to improve the quality and security of the water supply and provide new public open spaces on reservoir lids throughout Seattle. In 2013 the 16-acre park was completed.
Schools and library
Schools
There are two public elementary schools in Maple Leaf which are part of the citywide
Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Public Schools is the largest Public school (government funded), public school district in the state of Washington (state), Washington. The school district serves almost all of Seattle. Additionally it includes sections of Boulevard Par ...
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
.
* Olympic View Elementary School is a 20-room, 2-story brick building located on the 500 block of 95th Street. Founded in 1903 as the East Oak Lake School, Olympic View is one of the oldest schools in the city. The current building was constructed in 1989.
* Sacajawea Elementary School opened in 1955 with nine portable buildings. The current building was completed in 1959 and is located on the 9500 block of 20th Avenue. The school was named after
Sacagawea
Sacagawea ( or ; also spelled Sakakawea or Sacajawea; May – December 20, 1812)Sacagawea ." Shoshone Indian woman who helped to guide the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
.
Along with the two public elementary schools Maple Leaf is home to a handful of private schools.
* The Fairview School: A K-8th grade school affiliated with the Church of God. The building was built in 1908 and housed a public elementary school for 70 years. After the school closed the site was put up for bid, with the neighborhood fiercely opposing a plan to convert the school to low-income housing units. Originally the site was sold to the
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is an American ballet company based in Seattle, Washington. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004.
The company consists of 49 dancers and hosts ...
but after that deal fell through the Woodland Park Avenue Church purchased the building.
* St. Catherine School: A Catholic school serving students ranging from K-8th grade. The school was founded in 1941 and was staffed by the Sisters of Providence for 35 years.
* The Perkins School: A K-5th grade school located on the 9000 block of Roosevelt Way.
The Maple Leaf School
Although it would be considered outside of the current Maple Leaf neighborhood's boundaries, the Maple Leaf School opened in 1896 near
Lake Washington
Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States.
It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...
.
Library
The Northgate Library, which is a branch of the
Seattle Public Library
The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is the public library system serving the city of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Efforts to start a Seattle library had commenced as early as 1868, with the system eventually being established by the ci ...
system, is located on 10500 block of 5th Avenue, across from Northgate Mall. The library and the adjacent community center and park opened in July 2006.