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 Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

; on the northwest by Sand Point Way N.E. and N.E. 45th Street, beyond which are Hawthorne Hills,

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, 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 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 ...

. 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 Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan to actress Tippi Hedren, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, 17-year-old ...

and

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award ...

, 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 Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

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
{{coord, 47, 39, 37, N, 122, 16, 48, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-WA