Wallingford: Best Seattle Neighborhoods 2013
Home to a kicked-back community spirit.
By Melody Datz April 3, 2013
From Lake Union to NW 60th Street, sturdy old houses with large, friendly evergreens stand guard against grey skies. Yards and parking strips are dotted with carefully tended gardens, where kale stalks and rose bushes live in lush harmony. While the primary business district lining N 45th Street between Stone Way N and Interstate 5 is nearly always packed with traffic, Wallingford’s primary directive is the opposite of chaotic: Stay warm and chill out.
Don’t miss: Sushi, enviable cocktails and evening jazz at Seamonster Lounge. Wallingford Center draws fair-trade stylistas, aficionados of wee toy trains and lovers of fine cupcakes. And the pizza at Irwin’s Neighborhood Bakery & Cafe is always temptingly accessible, with the café cozied halfway between the Burke-Gilman Trail and 45th.
Go-to for out-of-town guests: Take a stroll through the grounds of the Good Shepherd Center, an Italianate-style former Catholic home and school for young women in the heart of the ’hood. Now home to nonprofit organizations, dwelling/work spaces for artists, a farmers’ market, playground and eclectic music venue Chapel Performance Space, it’s the epitome of the Wallingford existence—richly cultured, quietly urban and simply awesome.
Famous for: Runaway chickens, musical superstar Dave Matthews laden with groceries.
Melody Datz writes for the Wallyhood blog and has lived in Wallingford for three years.
Follow Us
Coasting Into Calm
After purchasing a weather-worn, ant-infested cabin on an Oregon beach, a Seattle couple hires a regional team to transform it into a stylish weekend retreat.
When architect Andrew Montgomery first pulled up to his clients’ house in Arch Cape, Oregon, there were logs in the driveway, courtesy of the sizable swells that come with the coast’s king tides. At just 28 feet above sea level and as close as you can get to the water without being on the beach,…
Blueprints for Building Community
After tragedy struck a local restaurateur family, one of their daughters stepped in to complete the design for her brother’s unfinished home.
Although he was just 35 when a heart attack took his life, Khoa Pham’s imprint on Seattle’s international district was such that the city quickly designated April 21 as a memorial day in his honor. With his rescue pitbull, Pinky, by his side, Pham cut a colorful figure through Little Saigon and became well known…
Tuft Stuff
Tuft Ruft turns fiber art into a social, hands-on experience in Pioneer Square.
It all started with a bout of pandemic boredom. Like many, when COVID-19 hit, recent graduate Carrie Xiao found herself stuck at home, with extra time on her hands. One day, while scrolling social media, she discovered tufting: a textile manufacturing technique that creates a garment or rug with a “pile,” or raised surface. After…
Collaborating Cultures
Looking to build a home to welcome family and friends, one Kirkland couple turns to a sister to design a modern house with influences from the wife’s Thai heritage.
For many years, when homeowners planned to build or remodel, architects and designers advised them to think first and foremost about resale value. From the number of bedrooms to the materials, appliances, and finishes in the kitchens and bathrooms, homes were often treated solely as an investment, with an eye to future sales. In recent…