Naming Rights: Madrona
This is the latest in a series of posts examining the naming origins of our Seattle neighborhoods.
Last week we ventured to Magnolia, named for a case of mistaken identity involving the native madrona trees. In that vein, we'll hopscotch to the west, to the neighborhood of Madrona.
The neighborhood gets its name for beach-facing Madrona Park, which, shockingly, was named for its abundance of madrona trees. The area's beachfront and hilly terrain was platted in 1889 (known at the time as the Cascade Addition, but even before this the area became a destination for recreation outside the city--some people even camped on the shores of Lake Washington all summer. A trolley line, the Seattle Truck, ran from downtown to the lakefront.
According to this HistoryLink essay, the area's developers took a keen interest in the park:
To attract lot buyers, the partners build or encouraged others to build a boat dock, a dance pavilion, hotel, Japanese tea house, bath houses, wooden swings, rustic benches, and walking paths, bridges, and shelters along the lake and through the wooded hillside. The park became a regular stop for Captain John Anderson's Mosquito Fleet of lake steamers.
Unlike other neighborhoods annexed in later years, Madrona is "part of the core of original Seattle," sharing many of the street names as the downtown. Check out a great collection of early Madrona lore here.
