Laurelhurst is a residential
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 northeastern
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
, US. It is bounded on the northeast by Ivanhoe Place N.E., beyond which is
Windermere; on the northwest by Sand Point Way N.E. and N.E. 45th Street, beyond which are
Hawthorne Hills,
Ravenna, and
University Village; on the west by Mary Gates Memorial Drive N.E., beyond which is the East Campus of the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
; on the southwest by
Union Bay; and on the east by
Lake Washington.
Seattle Children's Hospital is located in its northwest corner. Once a seasonal campground of the
Duwamish people, the neighborhood has been a part of Seattle since its annexation in 1910.
The community center is an official
city landmark. The Laurelhurst Beach Club,
Laurelhurst Park, and its Laurelhurst Community Center serve as gathering places.
Laurelhurst has had several famous residents, including
Melanie Griffith and
Antonio Banderas, who rented a house on the waterfront one summer while filming a movie; musician
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...
, bassist for
Guns N' Roses.
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
spent part of his childhood there.
The neighborhood is one of the most expensive in Seattle, with median home prices around $1,649,000, over double the overall Seattle median of $735,000, .
History
The name ''Laurelhurst'' dates from between 1906 and 1909, when Joseph McLaughlin and R.F. Booth, incorporated under the name McLaughlin Realty Company, acquired property from several owners in the already established areas of Scottish Heights and Yesler Village. They established a new plat, introduced the new name, brought in water, electricity, and sewer services, but failed to attract a streetcar line.
"Laurel" stands for the plant name
Laurel and "hurst" means "wood" in archaic English.
Education
Laurelhurst is home to Laurelhurst Elementary School,
Villa Academy, an independent grade school, the Wu Hsing Tao School, and the Seattle Midwifery School.
News sources
The community was served by the ''North Seattle Herald-Outlook'', which printed a weekly edition until it was shut downin January 2012by owner
Pacific Publishing Company.
Notes
External links
HistoryLink - A Thumbnail History of LaurelhurstLaurelhurst Community ClubLaurelhurst Beach ClubLaurelhurst Elementary School
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