Green Lake is a

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 ...

in north central

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 ...

, Washington. Its centerpiece is the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

and

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

after which it is named. Its generally accepted boundaries are

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 ...

to the east, beyond which lie Roosevelt and

Maple Leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is most widely recognized as the national symbols of Canada, national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by ...

; N 85th Street to the north, beyond which lies the neighborhood North College Park/Licton Springs; Aurora Avenue N ( State Route 99) to the west, beyond which lies Phinney Ridge and Greenwood, and N 60th Street and Woodland Park to the south, beyond which lies Wallingford. Its main thoroughfares are the circumferential road around the lake, known at different points as East Green Lake Way N, East Green Lake Drive N, West Green Lake Drive N, Aurora Avenue N, and West Green Lake Way N; N 65th, N 71st, and N 80th Streets (east- and westbound); Wallingford Avenue N and 1st, 5th, Latona, and Woodlawn Avenues NE (generally north- and southbound but following the contours of the shoreline at some points); Green Lake Drive N and NE Ravenna Boulevard (northwest- and southeast-bound); and Winona Avenue N (northeast- and southwest-bound). David Phillips surveyed the Green Lake area in September 1855 for the United States Surveyor General. The first settler was Erhart Seifried with a homestead on the northeast shore of the lake in 1869. In 1891 a trolley line was extended from Fremont along the eastern shore and around the northern end of Green Lake. Also in 1891, Green Lake was annexed to Seattle. There is an extensive variety of housing types in Green Lake. Since 1995, the neighborhood has undergone significant redevelopment. Many houses have been completely remodeled and enlarged, often with the addition of another floor. This is a consequence of Green Lake's easy access to

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English 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 district ( ...

via both Interstate 5 and Aurora Avenue N. The Green Lake Library, a Carnegie library that occupies and cost $35,000 to build, was opened in 1910. In 1999 the library held 54,000 catalogued items. It is part of the Seattle Public Library system. Prior to the 1991

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

, Green Lake formed the center of Washington's 32nd Legislative District. The well-organized and rather left-leaning Democratic Party organization of that district was widely known both to friend and foe alike as "the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

of Green Lake", possibly an allusion to

James Farley James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was an American politician who simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and United States Postmaster Gener ...

's legendary (though possibly apocryphal) 1930s remark "there are 47 States in the Union, and the Soviet of Washington". Green Lake is home to Green Lake Elementary School, Daniel Bagley Elementary School, Bishop Blanchet High School, and Seattle Parks and Recreation Department's Green Lake Small Craft Center (GLSCC). GLSCC is the site of both Green Lake Crew, a public rowing program, and the Seattle Canoe and Kayak Club. There is also a 2.8-mile path around the lake for runners, bikers, skaters and walkers. Many others use the athletic fields or visit the park for boating, picnics and swimming.

Landmarks

Green Lake Library is an officially designated Seattle landmark. Other, unofficial landmarks include: * Beth's Cafe a notable restaurant in the Green Lake neighborhood since 1954 * Colson House is a historic house constructed in 1904 by Charles and Sophie Colson.

References

Seattle Parks and Recreation: Green Lake Park

External links

Seattle Photograph Collection, Green Lake
- University of Washington Digital Collection {{coord, 47, 40, 49, N, 122, 19, 40, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-WA