Keeping up

Bar Cantinetta enters the scene

The pre-opening party for Madison Valley's newest restaurant was packed on Thursday evening, perhaps demonstrating the neighborhood's pent-up interest in having a Tuscan-style eatery close to home. We noticed a fair number of Madison Parkers among the crowd.  Described for some reason as a "boozier version of Cantinetta" by food blog Seattle Eater, Bar Canintetta is intended to be both a good neighborhood ristorante and a "small window into what we can do," says owner Trevor Greenwood.

Trevor Greenwood in front of his newest place (photo by Bob Peterson)

Regular hours will begin on Tuesday, 11:30 am until 10 pm, Tuesday thru Thursday; 11:30 until 11 pm Friday and Saturday; and 10 am until 10 pm on Sunday (brunch served from 10 until 3).  Bar Cantinetta is closed on Mondays. Reservations for six or more, phone: (206) 329-1501.

Bing's rated "kid friendly" by Seattle Magazine

In this month's issue, Seattle Magazine anoints Bing's as one of Seattle's 25 most "kid-friendly and parent pleasing" restaurants. "The new menu at this friendly Madison Park spot treats parents to sophisticated flavors—arugula salad with Manchego cheese and pistachios, flat iron steak with chimichurri sauce—while keeping it simple for the kids with an excellent mac and cheese and a tasty lineup of specialty burgers," says the magazine's editorial staff.

This, we believe, is Bing's first inclusion on a "best of Seattle" list since the restaurant changed hands two years ago.

Local gardener in the spotlight

Lexie Robbin's homestead (photo by Mike Siegel/Seattle Times)

The garden of Denny Blaine's Lexie Robbins, doyenne of a multi-generational Madison Park family, was featured this weekend in the Seattle Times' Pacific Northwest Magazine.  The article by Valerie Easton, describes Robbin's garden as "glorious." Lexie, who has working been at it for over fifty years, is pictured in her garden, as is cute granddaughter Gemma.

Sports celebrity buys Madison Park spec house

Beno's new view

We don't usually report on who buys or sells property in the neighborhood, but for those who don't happen to read the local business press we note that columnist Patty Payne disclosed in the Puget Sound Business Journal last month that the recent purchaser of the $4.4 million spec house located on McGilvra Boulevard, several blocks south of the Tennis Club, is professional basketball free-agent Beno Udrih.  "Mansion a slam dunk for NBA guard," says the PSBJ, Payne quoting Udrih and his wife as saying that while they live in Europe part of the year, they like Seattle as well.

President visits Madison Park (sort of)

We can technically claim a Presidential visit to Madison Park today, though his time in the neighborhood was rather fleeting. While on his way to a fundraiser at the waterfront home of Real Networks founder Rob Glaser, President Obama’s motorcade used Lake Washington Boulevard as “a long on and off ramp to and from 520.” He thus rather inadvertently entered Madison Park along our western border before heading south on the Boulevard and into Denny-Blaine, where Glaser’s house is located.

Ironically, the media gave credit to Madrona as the site of the Presidential visit. But as regular readers of this blog well know, Denny-Blaine is not part of Madrona, a fact acknowledged by the Madrona Community Council. So ironically, while the President actually did pass through Madison Park and did not travel into Madrona as far as we can tell, Madrona got the glory in most of the media.

Oh well, we know better. And so, presumably, do the residents of Denny-Blaine, many of whom must have been negatively impacted by the various security measures.

At any rate, the President’s brief excursion through our neighborhood was a big thrill for those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. The picture above was taken from the phone camera of Thao Nguyen of Therapeutic Associates Physical Therapy in Madison Court as the motorcade entered the Arboretum at the intersection of E. Madison and Lake Washington Boulevard. The staff of Therapeutic Associates reports that they waved to the President and that he actually waved back.

There are some good pictures of the motorcade, the security detail, and the exterior of Glaser’s house on the neighboring blog, Central District News. That blog, which actually covers Madrona as part of its beat, was the only media outlet that I could find today that correctly reported that site of the Presidential visit was “near Madrona.”

[SPD Command Vehicle photo by Will Lomen.]

Madison Park boundaries: Redfin falls into line, the City balks

You can chalk up another victory for Madison Park in the Battle of the Maps. National real estate website Redfin reports that it has changed its definition of our neighborhood to include all of Washington Park within the boundaries of Madison Park (that’s their new map to the right). Banished from Redfin’s thinking is the silly idea that much of Washington Park is located in the non-existent Harrison/Denny-Blaine neighborhood. As we reported earlier this year, Zillow was the first to change its map of our area to recognize all of Washington Park as an integral part of the Madison Park neighborhood. That leaves the City of Seattle as the only holdout among those entities who were asked to correct their maps.

It’s the City of Seattle, after all, which perpetuates the myth of a Harrison/Denny-Blaine neighborhood. As regular readers of this blog well know, the “unofficial” map of Seattle neighborhoods not only designates much the area south of E. Lee Street as not being in Madison Park, but it cedes that territory to the mythical community. Yes, there is a Denny-Blaine neighborhood to the south of us, but no Harrison/Denny-Blaine neighborhood has ever existed in the history of the City. And the area around the Seattle Tennis Club has certainly always been a part of Madison Park. But that’s not the City’s view:

Unfortunately, since there is no correct “official” neighborhood map, the “unofficial” map is used as a guide by mapmakers, Google, shopping sites, the news media, and other third parties. Madison Park is therefore often shown in an incorrect, truncated form. This is what most of think Madison Park looks like:

This is what the City (unofficially) thinks:

The Madison Park Community Council (MPCC) felt strongly enough about this issue to send a letter to the City asking that the neighborhood map be corrected. So far, the City is not budging. MPCC President Ken Myrabo told me he started with the Department of Neighborhoods, who referred him on to the City Clerk’s office. It’s the City Clerk who is responsible for the City’s neighborhood map, which is supposedly only utilized for filing purposes. Myrabo said he was told that changing the map would be too expensive--and besides it’s not an “official” map anyway. So why the concern?

I spoke this week with Carol Shenk of the Office of the City Clerk. She told me that the office receives four or five requests to change the neighborhood map each year, but they’re sticking with what they have. She noted that the City spent months working on the original map ten or fifteen years ago. But did the City ask anyone in Madison Park about it? She is sure that the City didn't. But she did remember that historical records had been consulted, as well as neighborhood and development maps. Apparently, however, not the map of the MPCC, which certainly existed at the time the City drew Madison Park’s “unofficial” boundaries.

Shenk admits that the map is “arbitrary,” but adds that “we just can’t be in the business of responding to every group’s request for changes.” For one thing, she said, her department has over 600,000 on-line documents, many of which would have to be re-indexed to reflect any changes to the neighborhood map. “We’re already understaffed and overwhelmed,” she told me.

Nevertheless, Shenk said she was willing to listen to Madison Park’s arguments and recommend changing the map if we can make a good case. Just don’t expect any action in the immediate future, she told me. “Perhaps volunteers from Madison Park would be willing to help re-index the documents?” she asked.

I don’t think her question was rhetorical.

[Those interested in reading more about the history of this issue can find it exhaustively covered here.]

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!

Zillow decides: the Washington Park neighborhood is part of Madison Valley

For some reason, seeing Madison Park misrepresented on maps really irritates me; so I’ve made it my mission to at least try to get these geographical mistakes corrected whenever I find them. In furtherance of that effort, I’ve been trying literally for months to get Zillow to acknowledge the fact that the Washington Park section of Madison Park is not located in a fictitious Seattle neighborhood called Harrison/Denny-Blaine, which is where Zillow had securely placed it.

Zillow is an influential real estate website that increasing numbers of homeowners and buyers regularly consult in order to help estimate not only the value of their own houses, but the value of their neighbors’ houses as well. Given that Washington Park is a vital component of the Madison Park community, it seemed to me that Zillow ought to include that enclave in its evaluation of Madison Park property values. Or, at minimum, it should break out Washington Park as a separate neighborhood; much as Zillow treats Broadmoor, Madison Park’s other tony subunit.

As I’ve reported on this blog (perhaps ad nauseam), the City of Seattle is ultimately responsible for the silly idea the Harrison/Denny-Blaine is a Seattle neighborhood and that much of Washington Park is a part of it. Zillow accepted the City’s perverse designation, calling the neighborhood simply Denny-Blaine (which is, in reality, just that sliver of a gold-coast neighborhood to the south of us). I supposed that anyone looking at the situation logically would see the perverseness of the City’s position. And since Zillow is a local company, some of whose principals have current or historic ties to Washington Park, I thought it would relatively easy to get their attention to this situation. .
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Well, I am happy to report that Zillow has finally made the change to its map of our area, confirming that Washington Park is not in Denny-Blaine. Zillow has now concluded, however, that Washington Park is a neighborhood in Madison Valley (as shown on the map below).

But before any of my readers in Madison Valley decides that I think there’s something wrong with being associated with Madison Valley, let me set the record straight. The issue as I see it is this: should the City of Seattle and third parties such as Zillow correctly identify Seattle neighborhoods based on our community of interests, our historic connections, and shared reference points, such as our business district? Or should all of those things--as well as the opinions of the people who actually live in the community--just be ignored and neighborhoods designated arbitrarily?

Zillow has apparently decided to go with the second approach, establishing a new boundary between Madison Valley and Madison Park that excludes virtually all of Washington Park from the Madison Park community. Previously, Zillow had accepted the City’s contention that the area of Washington Park near the Seattle Tennis Club (shown in the GoogleEarth photo above) was part of Denny-Blaine. Now, however, Zillow has decided that all of Washington Park, including the area west of McGilvra Boulevard, is within Madison Valley. Go figure!

And strangely, a small part of Washington Park has actually been retained by Zillow as part of Madison Park. Zillow’s old border between Madison Park and Denny-Blaine was E. Prospect Street, from Hillside Drive E. straight across to the Lake Washington shoreline. As seen on the map above, Zillow’s new boundary between Madison Park and Madison Valley meanders south from E. Madison Street, running down 37th Avenue E. for a block, across East Highland Street for two blocks, up 39th Avenue E. for a block, across E. Lee Street for a block, down McGilvra Boulevard for a block, and across E. Highland Street for two blocks to the shoreline. Whew!
The end result of all this craziness is that Madison Valley is—in Zillow’s opinion-- creeping northward into Madison Park, many blocks north of where Denny-Blaine was thought to end under the old Zillow scenario. Perhaps coincidentally, Zillow has managed to preserve the Washington Park home of its current president and the boyhood home of one of its founders solidly within the boundaries of Madison Park.

And if Zillow had pushed Madison Valley even one block further north, my house would have been effectively re-districted out of what Zillow considers to be Madison Park. But I guess I won’t have to change the name of this blog to Madison Valley Blogger, since they've decided to keep me in the Park!

Redfin, another important locally based real estate website, has told me it is “likely” they will be able to make the necessary changes to their site to reflect Washington Park as an enclave of Madison Park and not a subunit of Harrison/Denny-Blaine.

We shall see!

Defining Madison Park: an essay (part three)

In its more than 100 years as an upscale Madison Park neighborhood, Washington Park has gradually but inexorably grown from a relatively small enclave at the top of the hill to its present-day expansive form, covering most (or, depending on your view, all) of Madison Park south of E. Madison Street. The residential community of Washington Park, as noted earlier in our series, was so-named because of its proximity to the City park of the same name and, presumably, as a way to distinguish the area from the rest of Madison Park, which was considered much less exclusive.

From its inception, Washington Park was known for its large and stately homes. A good example of early homebuilding in the neighborhood is the Walker-Ames Mansion (808 36th Avenue E.), built in 1906, which has served as the home of University of Washington presidents since it was bequeathed to the UW in the early part of the last century. That’s the house pictured above, and here’s how it looks today:

Historically, Washington Park was confined to just a few blocks east of E. Lake Washington Boulevard and directly south of E. Madison Street. Even by mid-century, the area considered to be Washington Park was much less extensive than it is today. Longtime Madison Park resident Lola McKee (Madison Park Hardware) reports that back then everybody knew that Washington Park extended to 39th Avenue E. and went no further. All of the blocks to the east were just plain old Madison Park, she says.

This distinction made a lot of sense geographically, since Madison Park (the City park, that is) was to the east and Washington Park (the City park) was to the west. So how does it happen that today the neighborhood of Washington Park extends all the way to the shores of Lake Washington and perhaps (depending on where you draw the line) even touches Madison Park, the City park that gives our community its name? Isn’t that just a bit perverse?

As it happens, the redefinition of Washington Park is almost certainly an extreme case of neighborhood creep, which over the years was encouraged and abetted by home builders, homeowners, and real estate agents anxious to capture the cachet of a Washington Park address when selling residences located further and further from that neighborhood’s original starting point.

Let me explain neighborhood creep by pointing to what may well be a present-day example of the phenomenon: a successful attempt to market a new residential project, Madison Lofts, as being in Madison Park when the properties in question clearly sit outside of what has traditionally been considered our community. The Madison Lofts is that new brick condo building in Madison Valley located in the 2900 block on the north side of E. Madison Street. Even the City of Seattle (which, as we’ve noted, is somewhat confused about our southern border) recognizes that on the west side Madison Park begins at E. Lake Washington Boulevard. That, at least, is where they erected the “Madison Park/Washington Park Welcome You” sign.

Undoubtedly because Madison Park is considered to be a more exclusive neighborhood than Madison Valley, the developer and its real estate agent decided to market the condos as though they are located in Madison Park, which after all is only two blocks away. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service accepted this designation and listed the property as a Madison Park address. Perhaps this wouldn’t have happened if Madison Lofts had been built on a site with a previously existing Madison Valley residence on it, but the site was undeveloped. So for this new residential address, realtors bought into the developer’s concept that Madison Lofts is in Madison Park. And as a result, anyone buying a condo there presumably believes he or she lives in Madison Park. If other new residential buildings were to be built in the area between 29th and E. Lake Washington Boulevard, presumably they could and would be marketed in the same manner. And if that happened, there would be an additional block or two of people who believe they live in Madison Park, effectively extending Madison Park into Madison Valley.

Neighborhood creep is clearly a gradual process, and it probably only works successfully when there’s an affinity between the type of construction in the new area and that of the original neighborhood. In other words, as the area to the east of Washington Park became gentrified, it was perhaps logical and appropriate to consider it part of Washington Park. But the extension of Washington Park eastward probably wouldn’t have been successful if the area had continued to be dominated by bungalows, cottages, and beach houses, as the area “down the hill” from 39th Avenue E. was during much of the 20th Century.

While it’s pretty evident that most people in the community accept the idea that Washington Park now extends all the way to the Lake, a question still remains: Does Washington Park encompass all of Madison Park south of E. Madison Street?

When I moved to Madison Park I accepted the view of a friend who already lived here that to be south of Madison is to be in Washington Park. But I gradually became aware of the fact that not everyone subscribes to this notion. In researching this story I asked local realtors what they thought. Here’s the answer from one well-informed professional: “Washington Park begins at the Reed Estate. I can’t remember what street that is, but I can tell you one thing for sure—Washington Park Tower is not located in Washington Park.”

He’s right, assuming you accept the current view of real estate officialdom, which appears to be consistent with historical usage. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) puts the area north of E. Garfield Street (the northern border of the Reed Estate) solidly in Madison Park. The Washington Park neighborhood begins south of Garfield. Just to confirm this position, I checked on the four residences currently listed for sale in the five blocks south of Madison that are supposedly not considered Washington Park. In each case (one of which is a condo unit in the Washington Park Tower) the MLS shows the neighborhood as “Madison Park” and not “Washington Park.” I also talked to a couple of longtime residents of these blocks who agreed that Washington Park starts somewhere to the south, one telling me ‘I grew up right here and didn’t think I lived in Washington Park then--and I certainly don’t think I live in it now.’

So there you have it: the Washington Park Tower (shown in the photo above) does not sit in the Washington Park neighborhood. Here’s how the dividing line looks on an aerial view, courtesy of Bing (click to enlarge):

Now that we’ve disposed of that issue, what’s left define about Madison Park? Well, several things. For one, what do we call that group of houses that sit to the east of E. Lake Washington Boulevard and to the north of E. Madison Street (behind the Shell Station and Arboretum Court)? They are the closest to Washington Park Arboretum of any houses located in Madison Park, so by all rights they ought to be part of the Washington Park neighborhood, shouldn’t they? Not so. By historic convention (and the supreme authority of the MLS), the four-block area squeezed between Broadmoor and the Arboretum is actually a stub section of “Madison Park.” Here’s the aerial view, again courtesy of Bing (click to enlarge):

Interestingly, this area is disputed by the Greater Madison Valley Community Council (GMVCC), which believes it is part of the Valley. In fact, the Council’s expansive view of their community also takes in a section of Washington Park running from 33rd to 36th Avenue E., south of Madison (this is perhaps a bit of a surprise to residents in that area). This map shows the border between the Valley and the Park, according to the “Greater” view:

So Madison Park residents on the four blocks to the north of Madison--as well as those on another six blocks to the south--are in the happy position of being represented by two community councils at the same time; which, according to City planner Steve Sheppard, shouldn’t necessarily be considered a bad thing. Madison Valley or Madison Park? Let the residents decide!

At this point we’re almost done with our overview, but there are still two additional items left to claim our attention: 1) What about Canterbury? And 2) Where, if at all, does Denny-Blaine fit into the picture?

Canterbury, for those not in the know, is an area of Madison Park located next to Broadmoor‘s east side, in the area north of E. Newton Street. It was built as a developed community in the late 1950s and consists of about 100 mostly ranch-style homes popular during that era:

Like the rest of Madison Park, Canterbury has been undergoing a lot of redevelopment in recent years; but even before that, it was considered the tonier area of Madison Park north of Madison Street. The MLS does not consider Canterbury to be a separate neighborhood on a par with Broadmoor or Washington Park, so homes in the area are listed for sale simply as in the “Madison Park” neighborhood. Instead, “Canterbury” is listed as the plat area (or “project”), in the same manner as a house in Washington Park might have “John J. McGilvra Second Addition” as a plat designation on its MLS listing.

Nevertheless, Canterbury is clearly recognized by the Madison Park Community Council (MPCC) in its bylaws as a separate enclave on a par with Washington Park and Broadmoor, so why should we be any less generous in our evaluation? Canterbury is obviously a defined Madison Park neighborhood, another enclave.

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And Denny-Blaine?:

Like Canterbury, the MPCC recognizes the neighborhood as being within the Council’s area of representation. But there’s a difference. Yes, it’s true that the Denny-Blaine has no community council; and as we saw in part two of this series, it has been disowned by the Madrona community. Additionally, the City’s Department of Economic Development includes Denny-Blaine in the coverage area for the Madison Park Business District. So Denny-Blaine is part of Madison Park, right?

Not really. The residents there apparently don’t think of themselves as being in either Madison Park or Madrona. And according to current MPCC President Ken Myrabo, the reason Denny-Blaine was added to the MPCC coverage area is not because it is considered part of Madison Park but simply to give its residents representation by a community council. From that perspective, Denny-Blaine might at most be considered part of “Greater Madison Park,” but someone really ought to poll the residents there to see if they agree. The final verdict: Denny-Blaine is not Madison Park.

So that about does it. We’ve now explored the entire geography of Madison Park, and we’ve put to rest the misapprehensions anyone could possibly have on the subject of where Madison Park begins and ends. We now know what enclaves exist within the Park and what the boundaries are of each of these subunits. We’ve completed our definitive review and have emerged from our investigation--5,718 words later--weary but informed. Who could possibly now question our logical and reasoned conclusions?

Well lots of people, probably. Definitions, as we have seen, have been surprisingly dynamic throughout the course of Madison Park history. And, in fact, there’s no real authority on these matters. The City--as we’ve seen--is befuddled, the community councils disagree, and the Park’s residents have their own conflicting opinions. In my months of probing the definition of Madison Park I’ve talked to a lot of people, many of whom had strong opinions. But one well-known realtor was dismissive of the idea that there is any reason for confusion about neighborhood definitions. As she told me (and here I am paraphrasing), ‘It doesn’t make any difference what the City says, the community council says, or even what the homeowner says about what neighborhood their house is in. It’s the real estate professionals who decide these things!”

Well, that settles that!

[Historic photo of the Walker-Ames house courtesy of the University of Washington Libraries.]

Defining Madison Park: an essay (part two)

Over the course of several decades the City of Seattle has, apparently through inattention and inertia, helped to perpetuate the myth that Washington Park (or at least the bulk of it) isn’t located in Madison Park, but rather exists as an enclave of a neighborhood called “Harrison Denny-Blaine”:

This myth has been accepted by map makers, news sources, national and local websites, and other unsuspecting seekers of Seattle-neighborhood information. The result of the City government’s imprecision is that Madison Park neighborhood is often shown in a truncated form when our community is discussed in the media. Here, for example, is the map of Madison Park used by the Seattle PI:

The City’s definition of Madison Park, which excludes Washington Park, is also used by news aggregating sites such as outside.in and EveryBlock, by real estate listing sites such as Redfin, Tulia and Zillow, and by internet shopping sites such as CitySearch . In a recent Google search I found no fewer than 20 websites that aggregate Seattle neighborhood information in such as way as to exclude Washington Park from Madison Park. And why? Because the City’s “unofficial” neighborhood map does so.

So how did the City come to believe that Madison Park stops at E. Lee Street and that the non-existent neighborhood of “Harrison Denny-Blaine” is the actual home of the Seattle Tennis Club and of those upscale Washington Park houses pictured above? I decided to find out.

In researching this topic over the past couple of months I discovered that the source of this geographical confusion is something called the Seattle City Clerk's Office Neighborhood Map Atlas. There, shown as one of the “Capitol Hill Neighborhoods” is Madison Park, minus most of Washington Park. And there, shown as one of the “Central District Neighborhoods” is Harrison Denny-Blaine, including most of Washington Park. To be fair, the map does display a disclaimer at the bottom stating that the map “is designed for subject indexing of legislation, photographs, and other documents in the City Clerk's Office and Seattle Municipal Archives. It provides a way to increase consistency in the way geographic names are used and to allow precise retrieval of documents concerning neighborhood districts. It is not designed or intended as an ‘official’ City of Seattle neighborhood map”

So here we have an “unofficial” Seattle neighborhood map that is, none the less, used as the guide for recording and retrieving City information about the neighborhoods, is publicly available on the City’s website as the Seattle neighborhood map, and is purported to be the means by which “consistency” is achieved in defining the geography of the City. Consistency, in this case, means that Madison Park is missing one of its vital components and is constrained to about two thirds of its actual size.

And the map, by the way, is not just used for filing purposes. I have discovered that various City departments, including Seattle Public Utilities, utilize the City Clerk’s map as the official source of neighborhood boundaries. Here, for example is the area map for the Adopt-A-Street program:

The question of why the map is so off base stumped the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods when I raised the issue this summer. The first person I talked to said she had never heard of “Harrison Denny-Blaine” as a neighborhood. But when I told her the location, she was surprised to find it on the neighborhood map displayed in her office. Disclaiming any other knowledge of the subject, she passed me along to a colleague, Ted Divina, District Coordinator for the Central Area, who was also at a loss to explain how Madison Park got so whacked on the City’s map.

He theorized that the concept of ”Harrison Denny-Blaine” may be an historical anomaly of some kind, since there apparently was once a Harrison Community Council in the area, he thought. He suggested that perhaps the Greater Madison Valley Community Council (GMVCC) is the successor to the Harrison council. But even so, what would explain the inclusion of Washington Park in the “Harrison” neighborhood? And whatever the “Harrison” council may have once claimed, the Madison Valley council certainly doesn’t pretend that its coverage area extends into Denny-Blaine or into Washington Park (or, at least not into the part of Washington Park that overlooks Lake Washington). Here’s the official GMVCC map (we’ll be coming back to it later):

So at this point in the investigation it appeared we were at a dead end, the seemingly inexplicable story of the phantom Harrison Denny-Blaine neighborhood having been permanently lost in the mists of time. After further futile research I was just about to give up on this mystery, but last week I decided to make one last call to Ted Devina in the Department of Neighborhoods to see if he had uncovered anything. He said he hadn’t, but he remembered that there still was someone working in the department who had been there back in the 1970’s and who might know the answer. He directed me to Steve Sheppard, a senior planner in the group; and Sheppard, it turns out, does remember why there’s a Harrison Denny-Blaine neighborhood on the map. It’s a story he describes as “not very convoluted.” But, really, it is.

According to Sheppard, the story actually begins back in the 1960’s, when a federal grant funded a major effort by Seattle city government to rank all of the neighborhoods on the basis of their need for physical improvements. The idea was to use the rankings as a way to determine eligibility for infrastructure funding through bond issues such as Forward Thrust. The starting point for this process, he says, was to ask “what are our Seattle neighborhoods?”

But this presented some difficulties. There wasn’t universal agreement on where neighborhoods began and ended, and the neighborhoods that did exist weren’t necessarily contiguous to each other (in other words, some parts of the city didn’t really fit into a particular neighborhood, leaving gaps on the map of neighborhoods). For every block of the City to be fairly represented in the funding process, the neighborhoods had to abut each other, meaning that the historical boundaries of some neighborhoods needed to be expanded. Additionally, each neighborhood had to have a fair chance to get funding; so the neighborhoods had to be of roughly uniform size. There was also a desire, Sheppard believes, for the neighborhoods to have a good demographic mix (in other words, poorer areas combined with richer ones).

In the case of our area, Madison Park (including Broadmoor) was already large enough and diverse enough, according to Sheppard, to constitute a neighborhood for purposes of the official map. To the south and west of Madison Park, however, there was only the Harrison neighborhood, covering part of what today is Madison Valley. Combining Harrison with Denny-Blaine (which had no community council) did not, apparently, create a big enough neighborhood to compete equally with the others. So apparently most of Washington Park was added to “Harrison Denny-Blaine” simply to get the critical mass necessary for the neighborhood to compete effectively for bond funds. “It was a strange bedfellows situation,” Sheppard says, “but it was necessary for the purpose of getting funding.“

And it worked. As Sheppard remembers it, the City recognized 113 Seattle neighborhoods on its official map, but only the twenty top neighborhoods were to receive Forward Thrust money for their projects. After each of the neighborhood infrastructure improvement proposals had been received, the City chose Harrison Denny-Blaine as the 20th and final neighborhood to be awarded funding. All of the money was used for projects in Madison Valley.

According to Sheppard the intention was to have the people living in the respective neighborhoods make the decisions on how to define their communities. As he recalls, both the Harrison and Madison Park community councils were involved in the decision making on drawing the lines for the City’s neighborhood map. However, the purpose of that map was admittedly a rather limited one related to Forward Thrust funding. Sheppard agrees that “it’s really within the purview of the people living an area to decide the boundaries of their community.” Meaning, presumably, that the City should not be perpetuating a map that is inconsistent with neighborhood definitions adopted by the respective community councils.

In this case, the Harrison Community Council no longer exists; and its successor, the Greater Madison Valley Community Council, as we have seen, does not claim either Denny-Blaine or most of Washington Park as within its “jurisdiction.” The Madison Park Community Council, meanwhile, has apparently always included Washington Park within its coverage area. In fact, the official Madison Park map taken from the MPCC’s by-laws also includes Denny-Blaine. This map has the additional virtue of being consistent with what the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development says are the boundaries for the “Madison Park Business District”:

Just to cover all the bases, I checked with Cynthia Stross, President of the Madrona Community Council, to see what Madrona’s view on the matter might be. Her definitive response: “Denny-Blaine is not part of Madrona.”

So there you have it. All of the communities involved agree that there is no Harrison Denny-Blaine neighborhood, and no one claims to represent either Denny-Blaine or Washington Park other than the Madison Park Community Council. Yet the City persists in “unofficially” believing there is a Harrison Denny-Blaine neighborhood and that Madison Park exists almost entirely north of E. Madison Street. All because of some bond issue of 40 years ago. Somewhere in the denizens of City Hall someone is probably right now filing a memo about Washington Park in a file labeled “Harrison Denny-Blaine.”

But at least we know the truth.

We’re almost done exploring the definition of Madison Park, but not quite. To this point we have determined that Madison Park definitely includes the enclaves of Broadmoor and Washington Park. And we’ve also defined the boundaries of the Park, hopefully to the satisfaction of most readers. What remains to be investigated is where Washington Park begins and ends. In our third (and final) installment in this series we will therefore ask the question “Do the residents of Washington Park Tower actually live in Washington Park?”

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We may even provide an answer.


[The photo shows the Washington Park shoreline looking north from the vantage point of Lakeview Park at the intersection of E. Lake Washington Boulevard and Hillside Drive E., on the border between Washington Park and Denny-Blaine.]