North Beacon Hill

Today was sunny and brisk, perfect weather for a walk. I returned to North Beacon Hill for a 6.6 mile walk along streets east of Beacon Avenue S from S College to S Spokane Street.

Beacon Avenue S is the main street and the location of the Beacon Hill Light Rail Station. The train runs underground (16 stories down) through this area and there are apartments and commercial businesses near the station. I've taken the light rail through this station but never gotten out or ridden the elevator. I hope to return and do just that and enjoy the station's artwork.

The Beacon Hill Branch of the Seattle Public Library is across Beacon Avenue,

a bank, a supermarket, a medical/dental center, an auto repair shop, a few tax preparation offices, a few cafes, a yoga studio, a travel agency, a gas station/food shop, a bike shop, a TV/VCR repair shop, a few salons, a few restaurants - I noted El Quetzal and Kusina Filapina (with a mural on its side) - and a storefront for the Lee Family Association are nearby.

The streets were not filled with parked cars, probably because of the 2 hour limit for non-neighborhood residents.

Half a block from Beacon Avenue, the neighborhood becomes mostly single family homes - a mix of many older but with some modern homes.

Beacon Avenue is at the top of a hill and the adjacent streets are flat but a few blocks east, they slope down - necessitating a few staircases. Today, I could see Lake Washington and the Cascades.

This area is home to Christ the Son of God Lutheran Church,

El Centro de la Raza (in the old Beacon Hill School) and Santos Rodriguez Memorial Park (an adjacent street is named S Roberto Maestas Festival Street)

and a small triangular park (Stevens Place) with a large tree and a bench.

Along the way, I spotted a few tree swings, a porch swing,

garden art,










and some lovingly tended gardens and parking strips.

This walk was made even more enjoyable by the quality and quantity of the sidewalks in the neighborhood. In many areas, I walk in the street because there are no sidewalks or the sidewalks are poorly maintained and pose a risk of tripping or slipping on leaves or moss. With the exception of 21st and 22nd Avenues between College and Bayview, all the streets had sidewalks and only one small stretch was covered with leaves.