A jewel of a neighborhood with a rich and diverse architectural heritage, Mount Baker is often overlooked until early August’s Seafair celebration, when Seattleites flock to its beaches, parks and boulevards for a bird’s eye view of Navy Blue Angels performing over Lake Washington.  Outdoor opportunities abound, from biking, running, or walking the lakefront to gathering at the beaches to celebrate with the parade of Christmas ships.

Mount Baker, settled in the early 1900’s, is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities.  The Olmsted brothers (noted for New York’s Central Park) were commissioned for the layout of curving streets and broad, park-like boulevards, and the neighborhood remains an architectural feast for the eyes, featuring stately Colonials with sweeping lake views and substantial, manicured grounds, to utterly charming Tudor cottages tucked behind English gardens on narrow side streets.  The neighborhood is bounded on the west by MLK Jr Way and Rainier Avenue, and on the east by Lake Washington Boulevard, and from the I-90 lid on the north end to Genesee Park on the south.

The name of the game in Mount Baker is community.  The Mount Baker Community Club, organized in 1909, is the oldest continually active community club in the United States, and houses itself in a building listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.  Its motto, “Get together, get busy, boost!” says it all.