Maple Leaf

Another of the originally rural suburbs annexed into Seattle after World War II, Maple Leaf has grown to app. 20,000 residents and is one of the best known NE Seattle neighborhoods. It reputedly gets its name because it was considered so far north of Seattle proper that it could just as well be Canada, with its Maple Leaf flag. Now officially part of the Northgate uber-neighborhood, it has a regular commercial district on Roosevelt Ave NE between NE 75th & NE 100th and a smaller area of shops along 5th Ave NE between NE 85th & NE 90th. The official boundary includes the basic area between I-5 and Lake City Way, from NE 85th to Northgate Way, except for the area east of 15th Ave NE and north of NE 98th which is considered part of Victory Heights. However the Maple Leaf Community Council map excludes Northgate Mall in the NW corner (east of 5th Ave NE and north of NE 103rd) but extends south to NE 75th and uses the Maple Leaf fork of Thornton Creek as its northern boundary instead of Northgate Way. Major N-S arterials include 5th Ave NE, Roosevelt Ave NE (essentially 10th) and 15th Ave NE. There are no real E-W arterials in the heart of the neighborhood other than NE 80th, NE 75th & NE Banner Way on the southern boundary and Northgate Way on the northern boundary.

Maple Leaf Park and the adjoining water reservoir are an informal center of the neighborhood. The water tower just north is located near the highest point in Seattle outside of West Seattle (over 500 ft above sea level). Sacajawea Playground is located just south of Sacajawea Elementary school, and there is greenspace in Thornton Creek Park parcels including Thornton Creek Park #2 & #6. Northgate Park just east of 5th Ave NE & NE 105th includes the Northgate Branch Library, Northgate Community Center with indoor basketball and outside playground. The Maple Leaf Community Garden has 22 P-Patch plots just east of 5th Ave NE south of NE 103rd.

Olympic View Elementary and Sacajawea Elementary are located in the neighborhood with middle school students served by Eckstein and high school students going to Nathan Hale.

The 306 &312 express routes serve downtown commuters along Lake City Way (20-25 minutes), while the 77 express route serves downtown commuters along 15th Ave NE (30 minutes). The 41 provides express service downtown on I-5 from the Northgate Transit Center. The 66 & 67 go through the neighborhood to the UW along Roosevelt and 5th Ave NE. Access to the UW is also provided by the 72 & 372 along Lake City Way (15-20 min) and 73 and 373 along 15th (20-25 min). The Northgate Transit Center is a hub for bus transportation for all of North Seattle.

For Real Estate searches make sure to include Northgate and possibly Roosevelt, Victory Heights and Lake City when attempting to locate homes in Maple Leaf.