Alki Point, Seattle, Washington
Encyclopedia
Alki Point is the westernmost point in the West Seattle
district of Seattle, Washington; Alki is the peninsula
r neighborhood surrounding it. Jutting out into Puget Sound
, Alki was the original white settlement in what was to become the city of Seattle. Part of the city of West Seattle from 1902 to 1907, Alki was annexed to Seattle along with the rest of West Seattle in 1907.
Alki Point also marks the southern extent of Elliott Bay
; a line drawn northwest to West Point
marks the division between bay and sound.
The Duwamish called it "Prairie Point" (Lushootseed
: sbaqWábaqs). The name refers to prairies near the point that were maintained through seasonal burning by indigenous cultivators. It was a place of native occupation as well as colonial reconnaissance well before 1851.
landed at Alki Point November 13, 1851, and platted a settlement of six blocks of eight lots. The original name of the settlement was "New York Alki," "Alki" being a word in Chinook Jargon (Wawa)
meaning "eventually" or "by and by." However, the next April, Arthur A. Denny
abandoned the site at Alki for a better-situated site on the east shore of Elliott Bay
, just north of the plat of David Swinson "Doc" Maynard
. This site is now known as Pioneer Square
.
Charles Terry, who owned the land, and some others held on at Alki for a while, but most eventually joined the others in Pioneer Square. Terry gave his claim to Maynard in 1857 in exchange for his Pioneer Square holdings; Maynard farmed the land for 11 years and sold it to Hans Martin Hanson and Knud Olson in 1868, Hanson taking possession of the point itself. The Alki Point Lighthouse
dates from 1913, replacing the United States Lighthouse Service
's post light from 1887 and Hanson's lantern-on-a-post from the mid 1870s.
From 1925 to 1936, a ferry route
across Puget Sound connected Alki Point with Manchester, Washington
on the itsap Peninsula.
Well into the 20th century, Alki was reachable from most of Seattle only by boat. Alki today is reminiscent of a California beach
town, with a mix of mid-century bungalows, medium-rise waterfront apartment
houses, waterfront businesses, a thin beach, and a road with a bike/foot trail running several miles along the water. This section of West Seattle is bounded on the northwest by Elliott Bay
; on the southwest by Puget Sound
; and on the east by the West Seattle hill. Its main thoroughfares are Alki Avenue S.W. (northeast- and southwest-bound); Beach Drive S.W. (northwest- and southeast-bound); and S.W. Admiral Way (east- and westbound).
There have been summer concerts at Alki Beach since the early 1900s—the original streetcars to West Seattle were established in order to bring people to these events. Today, the beach plays host to the Seattle Music Fest every August. It is a three-day music festival that plays host to emerging Northwest artists and selected national and international headliners.
Denny Monument is located at Alki Point. It has the names of the first Seattle colony listed on it. The third side of the monument gives the names of the adults composing the first Seattle Colony. Arthur A. Denny and his Wife. John N. Low and Wife. Carson D. Boren and Wife. David D. Denny. Charles C. Terry, and on the base New York Alki (By and By) the name first given the settlement. The fourth side erected by the Washington University State Historical Society 13 November 1905 and on the base presented by Lenora Denny.
and downtown Seattle from all points. Alki Beach is also a place to "people watch" or get a tan, and it provides a casual environment for people to gather and hang out. There is access for wheelchair users and roller-skaters. In the summer months, Alki Beach becomes crowded, epecially on weekends. Sunbathers, volleyball nets, and barbecues fill the beach while teens cruise in eye-catching cars. Tourist attractions include the miniature of the Statue of Liberty
and the iconic Alki Point Lighthouse
. The main commercial strip in West Seattle, uphill from Alki Beach, California Ave SW provides five-and-dime shops and diners that recall earlier decades.
.
The miniature Statue of Liberty at Alki Point is a replica of the Statue of Liberty
on Liberty Island
in New York City. It was donated by Reginald H. Parsons and Seattle Council of The Boy Scouts of America in 1952. Despite its miniaturization, with locals; indeed, many tourists mourned the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center
at the site. This statue may also represent Alki Point which was originally called New York-Alki by John Low
and Lee Terry
who claimed the settlement and named it after New York, their state of origin.
also presents live performances on occasion.
Park, founded in 1954 provides a picturesque view of Elliot Bay. This park is located above Alki Beach on California Avenue SW. There are benches and lawn suitable for picnics and resting. Within the Alki neighborhood is Schmitz Park, the only old-growth forest in Seattle. Other parks in the Alki neighborhood: Me Kwa Mooks, Whale Tail Park, Alki Playground, Bar-S Baseball Field. Alki Beach is also a city park.
In 1907, at Duwamish Head, Charles I.D. Looff built an amusement park atop pilings called Luna Park, Seattle. This park, named after one of the amusement parks at Coney Island
in New York, included a German carousel, Ferris wheel, rollercoaster, and a boat chute ride. It also included Powers Natatorium and Bathhouse, which included heated saltwater pools. In 1954 the park burned. The pilings can still be seen today at low tide off of the point.
West Seattle, Seattle, Washington
West Seattle comprises two of Seattle, Washington's thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an independent town in 1902 and was annexed by Seattle in 1907. Among the area's attractions are its saltwater beach parks...
district of Seattle, Washington; Alki is the peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
r neighborhood surrounding it. Jutting out into Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
, Alki was the original white settlement in what was to become the city of Seattle. Part of the city of West Seattle from 1902 to 1907, Alki was annexed to Seattle along with the rest of West Seattle in 1907.
Alki Point also marks the southern extent of Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay is the body of water on which Seattle, Washington, is located. A line drawn from Alki Point in the south to West Point in the north serves to mark the generally accepted division between the bay and the open sound...
; a line drawn northwest to West Point
West Point (Seattle)
West Point is the westernmost point in Seattle, Washington, USA, jutting into Puget Sound from the Magnolia neighborhood. It also marks the northern extent of Elliott Bay; a line drawn southeastward to Alki Point marks the western extent of the bay. At the point itself is the 1881 West Point...
marks the division between bay and sound.
The Duwamish called it "Prairie Point" (Lushootseed
Lushootseed
Lushootseed is the language or dialect continuum of several SalishNative American groups of modern-day Washington state...
: sbaqWábaqs). The name refers to prairies near the point that were maintained through seasonal burning by indigenous cultivators. It was a place of native occupation as well as colonial reconnaissance well before 1851.
History
The Denny PartyDenny Party
The Denny Party is a group of white pioneers credited with founding Seattle, Washington because they settled at Alki Point on November 13, 1851.A wagon party headed by Arthur A. Denny left Cherry Grove, Illinois on April 10, 1851...
landed at Alki Point November 13, 1851, and platted a settlement of six blocks of eight lots. The original name of the settlement was "New York Alki," "Alki" being a word in Chinook Jargon (Wawa)
Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
meaning "eventually" or "by and by." However, the next April, Arthur A. Denny
Arthur A. Denny
Arthur Armstrong Denny was present at the founding of Seattle, Washington, the acknowledged leader of the pioneer Denny Party, and later the city's wealthiest citizen and a 9-term member of the territorial legislature...
abandoned the site at Alki for a better-situated site on the east shore of Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay is the body of water on which Seattle, Washington, is located. A line drawn from Alki Point in the south to West Point in the north serves to mark the generally accepted division between the bay and the open sound...
, just north of the plat of David Swinson "Doc" Maynard
David Swinson Maynard
David Swinson "Doc" Maynard was an American pioneer and doctor, and one of Seattle's primary founders. He was an effective civic booster and, compared to other white settlers, a relative advocate of Native American rights...
. This site is now known as Pioneer Square
Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington
Pioneer Square is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It was once the heart of the city: Seattle's founders settled there in 1852, following a brief six-month settlement at Alki Point on the far side of Elliott Bay. The early structures in the neighborhood...
.
Charles Terry, who owned the land, and some others held on at Alki for a while, but most eventually joined the others in Pioneer Square. Terry gave his claim to Maynard in 1857 in exchange for his Pioneer Square holdings; Maynard farmed the land for 11 years and sold it to Hans Martin Hanson and Knud Olson in 1868, Hanson taking possession of the point itself. The Alki Point Lighthouse
Alki Point Lighthouse
The Alki Point Light is located at Alki Point, at the southern entrance to Seattle's Elliott Bay. In 1887, the United States Lighthouse Board finally recognized the need for an official light and placed a lens-lantern atop a wooden post at the point....
dates from 1913, replacing the United States Lighthouse Service
United States Lighthouse Service
The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the US Federal Government that was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all lighthouses in the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 until 1939...
's post light from 1887 and Hanson's lantern-on-a-post from the mid 1870s.
From 1925 to 1936, a ferry route
Alki-Manchester Ferry
The Alki-Manchester ferry was a ferry route in Washington State that from 1925 to 1936 ran between Alki Point and Manchester, Washington across Puget Sound.-History:...
across Puget Sound connected Alki Point with Manchester, Washington
Manchester, Washington
Manchester is a census-designated place in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,958 at the 2000 census.-History:...
on the itsap Peninsula.
Well into the 20th century, Alki was reachable from most of Seattle only by boat. Alki today is reminiscent of a California beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
town, with a mix of mid-century bungalows, medium-rise waterfront apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
houses, waterfront businesses, a thin beach, and a road with a bike/foot trail running several miles along the water. This section of West Seattle is bounded on the northwest by Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay is the body of water on which Seattle, Washington, is located. A line drawn from Alki Point in the south to West Point in the north serves to mark the generally accepted division between the bay and the open sound...
; on the southwest by Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
; and on the east by the West Seattle hill. Its main thoroughfares are Alki Avenue S.W. (northeast- and southwest-bound); Beach Drive S.W. (northwest- and southeast-bound); and S.W. Admiral Way (east- and westbound).
There have been summer concerts at Alki Beach since the early 1900s—the original streetcars to West Seattle were established in order to bring people to these events. Today, the beach plays host to the Seattle Music Fest every August. It is a three-day music festival that plays host to emerging Northwest artists and selected national and international headliners.
Denny Monument is located at Alki Point. It has the names of the first Seattle colony listed on it. The third side of the monument gives the names of the adults composing the first Seattle Colony. Arthur A. Denny and his Wife. John N. Low and Wife. Carson D. Boren and Wife. David D. Denny. Charles C. Terry, and on the base New York Alki (By and By) the name first given the settlement. The fourth side erected by the Washington University State Historical Society 13 November 1905 and on the base presented by Lenora Denny.
Tourism
Alki Beach is the principal tourist attraction at Alki Point. It features sand, saltwater, bungalows, and unique local restaurants. It is generally not a popular swimming beach, owing to the cold waters of Puget Sound. It offers stunning views of the Olympic MountainsOlympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
and downtown Seattle from all points. Alki Beach is also a place to "people watch" or get a tan, and it provides a casual environment for people to gather and hang out. There is access for wheelchair users and roller-skaters. In the summer months, Alki Beach becomes crowded, epecially on weekends. Sunbathers, volleyball nets, and barbecues fill the beach while teens cruise in eye-catching cars. Tourist attractions include the miniature of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
and the iconic Alki Point Lighthouse
Alki Point Lighthouse
The Alki Point Light is located at Alki Point, at the southern entrance to Seattle's Elliott Bay. In 1887, the United States Lighthouse Board finally recognized the need for an official light and placed a lens-lantern atop a wooden post at the point....
. The main commercial strip in West Seattle, uphill from Alki Beach, California Ave SW provides five-and-dime shops and diners that recall earlier decades.
Landmarks
Alki Point Lighthouse is a historic landmark built in 1913 that still functions today. Though the property is not open to the public, the tower is available for touring on summer weekend afternoons where the lens can be viewed. Despite its normal inaccessibility, it provides the tourist with the feeling of an authentic beach town and contributes to the overall picturesquePicturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
.
The miniature Statue of Liberty at Alki Point is a replica of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
on Liberty Island
Liberty Island
Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the turn of the century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D...
in New York City. It was donated by Reginald H. Parsons and Seattle Council of The Boy Scouts of America in 1952. Despite its miniaturization, with locals; indeed, many tourists mourned the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
at the site. This statue may also represent Alki Point which was originally called New York-Alki by John Low
John Low
John Low or John Lowe was a medieval Bishop of St Asaph and Bishop of Rochester, in England.Low was consecrated Bishop of St Asaph on 1 November 1433 and translated to Rochester on 22 April 1444.Low died about 21 November 1467.-References:...
and Lee Terry
Lee Terry
Lee Raymond Terry is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party.A lifelong Nebraskan, Congressman Lee Terry has worked continually to empower the people of the Second District. Terry has been a leader for Nebraska, advocating American energy...
who claimed the settlement and named it after New York, their state of origin.
Music Destination
Alki Beach has been a venue for summer concerts every August since the early 20th century. The local music scene draws tourists and locals alike. Live music can also be found at Kenyon Hall which features a Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organ. The Historic Admiral TheaterAdmiral Theater
The Admiral Theater is a landmark of the North Admiral neighborhood of West Seattle, famous for showing films that are just about to be released on video regardless of format....
also presents live performances on occasion.
Bungalows and Historic Buildings
Bungalows are nestled between condominiums along Harbor Avenue. These historic homes, such as the Hanson-Olsen Home originally built in 1860s, provide a glimpse into the Arts and Crafts movement which flourished in the cities of the American West in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Many of these bungalows are today in poor condition, and residents have been increasingly forced to be renovate or move them to another destination—or risk demolition.Tourism from the Water
Kayaking is another way for locals and tourists to explore Alki Point. Kayaking tours take place during the weekends and provide the tourist with information and views of the natural landscape, waterfront attractions, and architectural landmarks.Parks to Tour
Hamilton ViewpointHamilton Viewpoint
Hamilton Viewpoint is a public park in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It was acquired by the city in 1914 and became a park 40 years later.-External links:*...
Park, founded in 1954 provides a picturesque view of Elliot Bay. This park is located above Alki Beach on California Avenue SW. There are benches and lawn suitable for picnics and resting. Within the Alki neighborhood is Schmitz Park, the only old-growth forest in Seattle. Other parks in the Alki neighborhood: Me Kwa Mooks, Whale Tail Park, Alki Playground, Bar-S Baseball Field. Alki Beach is also a city park.
Historical Tourism at Alki Point
Due to the popularity of Alki Beach in 1902, the electric street railway line was extended from downtown Seattle to this destination.In 1907, at Duwamish Head, Charles I.D. Looff built an amusement park atop pilings called Luna Park, Seattle. This park, named after one of the amusement parks at Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
in New York, included a German carousel, Ferris wheel, rollercoaster, and a boat chute ride. It also included Powers Natatorium and Bathhouse, which included heated saltwater pools. In 1954 the park burned. The pilings can still be seen today at low tide off of the point.