Maple Leaf, Seattle, Washington
Encyclopedia
Lake Washington
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and...
or from maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
trees that once grew in the area, though a popular story is that in the early days of Seattle's settlement the neighborhood was "so far north, it might as well have been Canada", and was named "Maple Leaf" as an inside joke.
The original plat is located between what would later be named NE 85th and 105th Streets and 5th and 25th Avenues NE. It was annexed to Seattle in the early 1950s.. Although Seattle neighborhood boundaries are unofficial, the current approximate neighborhood boundaries are, starting from the south and working clockwise, NE 75th Street west to Banner Way NE, north on Banner Way to Interstate 5, then north along the edge of I-5 up to NE 103rd. Then east along NE 103rd to 5th Avenue NE, north to Northgate Way, then east to Roosevelt Way NE. South along Roosevelt to Thornton Creek and then east along the creek bed to Lake City Way NE (roughly at NE 98th). Then south along Lake City Way NE to 75th Ave NE map.
Maple Leaf is bordered on the south by the Roosevelt
Roosevelt, Seattle, Washington
Roosevelt is a neighborhood in north Seattle, Washington. Its main thoroughfare, originally 10th Avenue, was renamed Roosevelt Way upon Theodore Roosevelt's death in 1919...
neighborhood; to the north by Pinehurst
Pinehurst, Seattle, Washington
Pinehurst is a neighborhood in the Northgate area of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is bounded by NE 130th Street to the north, NE Northgate Way to the south, I-5 to the west, and Lake City Way to the east...
and Victory Heights
Victory Heights, Seattle, Washington
Victory Heights is a neighborhood in the Lake City district of Seattle, Washington.The neighborhood was named after the Victory Highway, which forms the eastern border of the area. The Victory Highway was originally called the Gerhart Erickson Road , then Bothell Road, but was renamed the Victory...
neighborhoods of the Northgate
Northgate, Seattle, Washington
Northgate is an informal district of neighborhoods in north urban Seattle, Washington, named for and surrounding Northgate Mall, the first covered mall in the United States....
district; to the east by the Lake City
Lake City, Seattle, Washington
Lake City is the northeast region of Seattle, centered along Lake City Way NE , 7–8 miles northeast of downtown. A broader definition of the Lake City area includes all the land between 15th Avenue NE and Lake Washington, and between NE 85th and 98th streets to the Seattle city limits at NE 145th...
and Wedgwood
Wedgwood, Seattle, Washington
Wedgwood is a middle class residential neighborhood of northeast Seattle, Washington, with a modest commercial strip. Wedgwood is located about two miles north, and slightly east, of the University of Washington; it is about six miles northeast of Downtown...
neighborhoods; and to the west by the North College Park or Licton Springs
Licton Springs, Seattle, Washington
Licton Springs or North College Park is a neighborhood in the informal Northgate district of North Seattle. It is bounded by Interstate 5 to the east, beyond which is Maple Leaf neighborhood and the Northgate Mall; Aurora Avenue N to the west, beyond which is Greenwood; N 85th Street to the south,...
neighborhood, map. (Seattle neighborhoods boundaries are informal).
Maple Leaf is home to approximately 20,000 residents, mostly residing in "classic Seattle boxes", (so initially a pejorative, wryly belied today by their high quality and prices), known locally as Seattle bungalows and Tudoresque style houses. Since 2000 the Maple Leaf area has been undergoing considerable renovation as smaller, older homes sitting on 1/8 acre lots are being bulldozed to make room for new high-end "Craftsman"-style homes and, especially along Roosevelt Way NE from Snappy Dragon to Walgreens, townhomes.
Besides Northgate Mall
Northgate Mall (Seattle)
Northgate Mall is a shopping mall in the Northgate district of north urban Seattle, Washington. It is currently anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, Toys "R" Us, JCPenney, Macy's and Nordstrom.-History:...
(1950), most of the businesses within Maple Leaf line Roosevelt Way NE from NE 75th to 100th Streets and 5th Avenue NE from NE 85th to 90th Streets. Notable neighborhood meeting spots on Roosevelt include Cloud City Coffee at 88th, family-owned Maple Leaf Ace Hardware at 91st, Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon at 90th, The Roosevelt Alehouse at 89th, the Reservoir Bar at 85th, and the Maple Leaf Grill at 92nd, while neighborhood meeting spots on 5th Avenue NE include Cafe Javasti and the San Marco Grocery at 84th. Cabinetworks on Roosevelt is long-established and one of the few woodworking manufacturers remaining in Seattle.
Distinctive features of the neighborhood include the water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
and reservoir located at 85th and Roosevelt, plus historic Waldo Hospital at 85th NE and NE 15th. The water tower is painted with a distinctive coupling of maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
leaves viewable from Interstate 5. Across Roosevelt Way from the water tower and reservoir is Saint Catherine's School and Church. Just south is The Fairview Church and The Fairview School, one of the largest private primary schools in the city. Waldo Hospital was previously occupied by Camp Fire Boys and Girls.
Maple Leaf is one of two homes for a flock of feral conure
Conure
Conures are a diverse, loosely-defined group of small to medium-sized parrots. They belong to several genera within a long-tailed group of the New World Parrot subfamily Arinae. The term "conure" is used primarily in bird keeping, though it has appeared in some scientific journals...
s (parrots) descended from escaped pets. They fly between Maple Leaf and Seward Park
Seward Park (Seattle)
Seward Park is a 300 acre park in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., that occupies all of Bailey Peninsula, a forested peninsula off south Seattle that juts into Lake Washington....
.
The highest point in Maple Leaf, located on 91st Street between Roosevelt Way and 5th Avenue, is over 500 feet (150 m) in elevation, one of the highest points in the city. (High Point in West Seattle is 20 feet (6.1 m) higher.)