Houghton is one of the lakeside

neighborhoods 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. Neighbourh ...

of the city of

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in King County and the twelfth largest city in the state of Washington. ...

. Consisting mostly of upscale,

single-family home A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling. Definitions ...

s, Houghton overlooks

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 ...

and is one of the wealthier districts of the Eastside suburbs of

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 ...

. The village was named for Willard Houghton, a local lumberman. Houghton incorporated in 1948. In 1950, Census records showed there were 1,065 people living in the town of Houghton. The city of Houghton was annexed by Kirkland in 1968 and became the first community in Washington with a neighborhood council. The headquarters of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

were located in Houghton, near Northwest University until moving to new quarters in Renton in 2008. The main arterials running through Houghton include 108th Avenue NE, west of Interstate 405, Lakeview Drive, and Lake Street, which connects to Lake Washington Boulevard NE. Attractions include Houghton Beach Park and Marsh Park, on the lake, and Watershed Park, adjacent to the interstate.

Houghton Shipyard

In earlier times, Houghton was home to a large shipbuilding operation, the Lake Washington Shipyards (a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

contractor) previously named the Anderson Steamboat Company. It is located directly across the lake from Sand Point Naval Air Station, which was decommissioned in the 1970s. At one time there was a dock providing access to the Lake Washington ferries. Stewart Heights was a residential area just east of the

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

tracks on the grounds of what became Northwest University. Many workers for the shipyards near Houghton lived there. Today the shipyards are the site of the lakeside Carillon Point business park.

References

External links

City of Kirkland history
{{Washington Neighborhoods in Kirkland, Washington History of Kirkland, Washington