Green Lake / Greenwood

By Dawn McCarra Bass

The Greenwood and Green Lake neighborhoods, connected by the dusty strip-mall belt of Aurora Avenue, have distinctly different characters. Green Lake centers on the lake from which it gets its name. Drawing more than a million visitors a year, it's as popular with locals as the Space Needle is with tourists. Greenwood, contrariwise, has been molded by the needs of the families who live there, and its continued growth is guided by one of the most vigilant community councils in Seattle.

Green Lake is a draw for Seattleites of every ilk. Walkers and runners, people on wheels, rowers and fishers, families and hopeful singles rub shoulders on the 2.8-mile social circle that surrounds the lake itself. Protesters opposed to President Bush but in favor of rabbits and geese share space with musicians and the lake's famous "bubbleman," a delight for passing children and a terror to small dogs. The Bathhouse Theater and an open-air stadium for fans of rowing and boat shows open up the lake to public events as well.

The lake is ringed by restaurants and other walk-friendly businesses, including some of Seattle's best athletic stores and a sea of less-appealing chain eateries. Still, proliferation means no shortage of choices for hungry wanderers, and holdouts like Spud's Fish and Chips remain landmarks among the newer grills and taco shops. Coffee shops abound, and few things are more pleasant year-round than to walk the lake with a treat from Chocolati, hot or cold as needed.

The popularity of the lake must be a trial to residents who just want to - well, to reside. But businesses and residents have come to a wary coexistence, and there's no denying that the flood of revenue the lake's visitors bring have made this community highly attractive to visitors and residents alike.

Greenwood, on the other hand, cultivates a brand of homey hip that isn't easy to preserve among Seattle's rapidly-gentrifying neighborhoods. Development has been in favor of urban pedestrians, welcoming small businesses and a layout that feeds a strong sense of community. Within the last five years, both the local elementary school and the library have been remodeled.

Although not - as its name might suggest -- a true green zone, Greenwood is home to Carkeek Park, where beaches fill with families on sunny days and with determined photographers when the mist curtain is up. A new interurban trail that will someday run from Fremont to Shoreline is slowly finding its footing as well.

Shopping in Greenwood has historically meant antiques, and although the options have grown as the community has - now including the Space Travel Supply Co., a must-see for anyone with even a touch of sci-fi in their blood - the selection still leans toward needs, rather than wants. Cultural offerings include the Taproot Theater, with a "pay as you can" night for every show. Or step lightly at Sonny Newman's Dance Hall and tango or waltz the night away.

The average two-bedroom house in these neighborhoods goes for around $400,000, though you'd be lucky to find a home along Green Lake itself for less than a million, and the immediate area near the lake is dominated by lovely and expensive brick dwellings. Prices in some areas of Greenwood, on the other hand, reflect the fact that much of the neighborhood's development overlies a peat bog, which still plagues residents with drainage issues, cracking streets, and sinking buildings.

Greenwood's 1950s bungalows are yielding more and more space to condominiums and apartment housing, making the neighborhood financially friendlier to those who can't afford Seattle's rising housing prices, but clogging the streets. It takes nothing more than a sunny day to back up traffic around Green Lake for blocks. Proximity to Aurora, however, puts residents of both neighborhoods within easy range of anywhere they'd like to go.