I’ll be bringing on a new listing on Friday in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood, so I thought I’d provide you with a little information about this fabulous area. It’s so great, that one Seattle real estate company recently named Phinney Ridge the 7th hottest neighborhood in the U.S.
Phinney Ridge is named after the ridge which runs north and south, separating Ballard from Green Lake, from approximately N. 45th to N. 85th Street. The ridge, in turn, is named after Guy C. Phinney, lumber mill owner and real estate developer, whose estate was bought by the city and turned into Woodland Park in 1899. Phinney’s estate had included a private menagerie, and the western half of the park became what is now the Woodland Park Zoo.
The generally accepted boundaries of Phinney Ridge are Aurora Avenue N. to the east, beyond which lies Green Lake and the eastern half of Woodland Park; N. 80th Street to the north, beyond which lies Greenwood; 8th Avenue N.W. to the west, beyond which lies Ballard, and N. 50th and Market Streets to the south, beyond which lies Fremont.
Phinney Ridge’s main thoroughfare, which runs atop the ridge south of N. 67th Street, is Phinney Avenue N. North of N. 67th Street, the arterial swings a block to the west and becomes Greenwood Avenue N. The route is lined with many small businesses and shops, as well as the Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA), located at the corner of Phinney and 67th. It has occupied the former John B. Allen Elementary School building, which was built in 1904, since 1981, when the school closed.
In addition to its proximity to Green Lake and the Zoo, Phinney is home to numerous neighborhood parks and several P-Patches. The PNA hosts many community events annually, including the Phinney Farmer’s Market (opens this Friday, June 6), the PhinneyWood Pride Rainbow Hop, a wine tasting event, a beer tasting event, an annual auction, and a huge Winter Festival. There are monthly Art Walks along Phinney Ave./Greenwood Ave. and annually in June (this year June 28th) those streets are lined with classic automobiles during the Greenwood Car Show.
Phinney is one of my favorite neighborhoods because of it’s proximity to everything. I happen to live in Phinney Ridge too.