Zillow reverses course: Decides Washington Park is NOT part of Madison Valley

Having taken Zillow to task earlier this year for advancing the crazy idea that the Washington Park neighborhood was not located in Madison Park, I am happy to now report that the company has seen the error of its ways. This just in from Zillow: The residences of Washington Park are not an enclave of Madison Valley after all. They are actually part and parcel of Madison Park. The official Zillow map for Seattle has been adjusted accordingly, and Zillow will now evaluate Madison Park’s real estate to include almost everything that most of us think of as Madison Park (Broadmoor excluded).

Zillow could have decided to break out Washington Park as a separate neighborhood, just as they do Broadmoor. But in the end, Zillow’s head honcho decided not to go that route. Company president and co-founder Lloyd Frink gave me his reasoning: “In all my life that I have lived here, I have never once said I live in Washington Park – I always refer to the overall neighborhood as Madison Park.” I’m sure he’s not alone.

Zillow’s new map does still carve out a few residential blocks from our neighborhood that the Madison Park Community Council, at least, thinks of as being in Madison Park. Those blocks to the North of Madison and East of Lake Washington Boulevard (known affectionately to some residents as Shellville, formerly Texaco Heights) are—in Zillow’s opinion—located in Madison Valley. The same holds true for several blocks south of Madison, beginning at about 33rd Avenue E. and extending West to Lake Washington Boulevard. In this, Zillow is consistent with the opinion of the Madison Valley Community Council. Zillow also places Denny-Blaine outside of the Madison Park boundaries, which is probably quite alright with the residents of that neighborhood.

Now that Zillow has come around to some correct thinking on Madison Park, the question remains as to whether the City is capable of doing the same. The Madison Park Community Council, I am told, has submitted a letter to the City’s Department of Neighborhoods asking that their maps be redrawn to show that the Washington Park portion of Madison Park is not located in the “Harrison/Denny-Blaine” neighborhood.

Good luck with that!