Mt.Baker - Seattle

National Register of Historic Places 

Linked verdant parks 

Abundant recreational opportunities  

Warm community spirit & cozy village feeling

Repose in the City 

More than a hundred years ago the Boston firm Olmsted Brothers, masters of large-scale landscape engineering (and designers of college campuses across the nation, including University of Washington and Stanford University) built the gracefully curved boulevards and linked wooded parks that define Mt. Baker’s tranquil, old-world character. From Mt. Baker Park stroll down a wide pathway to Mt. Baker Bathing Beach, under maples, mountain ash, and cherry trees. Neighboring Colman Park provides picnic tables and an idyllic grassy area, bordered by weeping willows, for frisbee and soccer. 

Heritage Neighborhood 

The newly designated (2018) Mt. Baker Park Historic District places most of the neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places. 85% of the building stock, ranging from mansions to working-class Craftsman bungalows, dates from before 1929. The landmark designation encourages thoughtful future choices for new construction in relation to existing buildings. In a city whose built environment is regularly jarred during boom eras, this honor signifies continuity, ideal for protecting your enduring lakefront real-estate investment. 

Blueprint for Egalitarianism 

Mt. Baker’s celebrated Ellsworth Storey Cottages (1910-15), conceived by Seattle’s first regionalist architect and sited on a verdant 1.5-acre sloping lot in Colman Park, earned landmark status as early as 1976. Each of the 11 surviving cottages exemplifies the simple, direct use of local materials that came to inform the Northwest Regional style. Storey’s grandchildren, the current owners, have preserved the cottages as long-term rental housing for low-income artists, thus extending the architect’s utopian legacy and supporting Mt. Baker’s progressive values. 

Rooted in Community 

Mt. Baker Community Club (established 1909) sponsors classes and camps, funds college scholarships, hosts public debates and discussions, organizes an annual home tour of historic houses, and helps shape ZLUPT (zoning, land use, planning and transportation) – living up to its mission “to be the heart of Mt. Baker.” Take a meditative dance class, volunteer as a tour guide, or contribute content to the club’s quarterly free newsletter, The View; membership in the Community Club is open, with no membership dues, to all who live, work, or go to school in Mt. Baker.  

Recreational Nirvana 

Join the walkers, joggers, and cyclists who enjoy unimpeded access to the winding ribbon of Lake Washington Boulevard, closed to motor traffic between Seward Park and Mt. Baker Park on scheduled Sundays between May and September. This corner of Seattle is a paradise for the active and athletic. Mt. Baker Rowing and Sailing Center offers year-round sailing lessons and weekend open boating hours. Amy Yee Tennis Center boasts ten indoor courts, six outdoor courts, and an array of programs for all ages and experience levels.  

Charming Village Amenities 

Mt Baker offers 52 restaurants, bars and coffee shops. Stop by Mioposto for morning coffee or pizza supper, pick up the newspaper or a bottle of wine at Leschi Market, or duck into Saloon for a pint. You’ll be sure to run into a neighbor or make a new friend. The venerable Italian Borraccini Bakery and Mutual Fish Market (Seattle’s prized source for fresh seafood for over 70 years), together with large grocery stores, are just a few blocks away on Rainier Avenue. Vibrant Columbia City, a mere mile and a half south, glitters with urban excitement. Enticing cafes, bars, clubs, and boutiques (and an excellent locally owned historic movie theatre) line a four-block stretch of Rainier Avenue. Select the freshest produce at the PCC organic market or the seasonal farmers market, indulge in a flaky croissant at Columbia City Bakery, or savor global cuisine – this up-and-coming foodie neighborhood has something for every occasion and taste. 

Connected to the World 

From Mt. Baker village follow sinuous Mt. Baker Boulevard past the neoclassical façade of Franklin High School to the concrete, glass, steel and brick-veneer Mt. Baker Station, one of the largest stations in Seattle’s rapidly evolving light rail system. Graced with vivid, evocative installations by artists Guy Kemper and Sheila Kline, the station is your portal to the wider world. Within minutes the train whisks you to CenturyLink Field in time to catch a Seahawks or Sounders game, or to T-Mobile Park for the opening pitch of the Mariners. Or step on the southbound train for Sea-Tac Airport, gateway to global destinations, for work or for pleasure. Approved expansion will add 70 stations to Link Light Rail by 2041, connecting you to the Pacific Northwest from Everett to Tacoma, and including Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Issaquah on the East Side and West Seattle, Queen Anne, Fremont, and Ballard in Seattle. The sustainable mass transit of the near future will transform the city’s mobility map and cement Seattle’s status as a prosperous metropolis.