A Brief History of Seattle’s Lakewood Neighborhood
(2 minute read)
The first residents of Seattle’s Lakewood neighborhood were the people of the Duwamish tribe. The tribe utilized the land to enjoy the beautiful lakeside summer days, erecting elaborate longhouses and developing meeting area’s that embraced the prosperous peninsula.
This pattern of living was interrupted as Seattle was settled and the Lakewood slough was claimed by John S. Maggs. Soon after, in 1833, Guy Phinney bought the whole sector of titled land, labeling it Maynard’s Addition, a name which remains 140 years later. Maggs began the process of laying out and naming streets, ultimately creating a neighborhood out of the acreage.
At this time, access between Maynard’s addition and downtown was limited due to a lack of easy transportation between the inner city and many of the surrounding boroughs. It wasn’t until 1914 when Canadian A.G. Corbitt organized the beginnings of the Lakewood Community Club (today known as the Lakewood-Seward Park Community Club), that connectivity began to shift. This club became a center for education and development within the area, as they tackled poor street conditions, lobbied the City of Seattle for sidewalks along Genesee, and created neighborhood cohesiveness.
However, the construction of the Seattle Ship Canal in 1916 resulted in a 9ft lake level lowering, continuing the discontent between Lakewood area residents and the city for another 15 years. The drained land of the sloughs was converted into a dump, bringing rats and seagulls to the area, posing a hygienic danger to residents. The dump remained until approximately 1967, after the 1957 Stanley S. Sayers Memorial Hydroplane Pit development accelerated and launched the transformation of the Lakewood area into a prosperous urban hub.
Today, the region is diverse and proudly hosts delightful café’s including Both Way’s Café, Chucks Hop Shop, a Third Place Books, and Bent Burgers. It is also minutes away from Columbia City, which you can read more about in this post. Lakewood is a unique community, now with easy access to downtown Seattle, Mercer Island, Renton, and Bellevue. It is a wonderful and enriching place to live and raise a family.
Resources:
Lakewood Seward Park Neighborhood Association (www.lspcc.org)
The free online encyclopedia of Washington state history (www.Historylink.org)
