North Admiral is the oldest neighborhood in West Seattle

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...

, Washington. In the early 1900s it was connected to Seattle by ferries and a cable car. These ferries included the paddle steamers City of Seattle

City of Seattle (steam ferry)

The City of Seattle was a side-wheel driven steam-powered ferry built in 1888. This vessel was the first ferry to operate on Puget Sound. City of Seattle was also used in the San Francisco Bay area starting in 1913. The ferry was known as YFB54 when owned by the U.S...

 and West Seattle

West Seattle (steam ferry)

West Seattle was a side-wheel driven steam-powered ferry built in 1907.-Design and construction:West Seattle was built in 1907 at Tacoma, Washington at the Heath yard for the West Seattle Land and Improvement Company...

.

The North Admiral district is the location of West Seattle High School

West Seattle High School

West Seattle High School is a comprehensive public high school in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood that serves grades nine through twelve as part of the Seattle School District.-History and Facilities:...

. The neighborhood name implies that it is at the north end of Admiral Way S.W. However Admiral runs east and west and crosses California Avenue S.W. north of the major junction at S.W. Alaska street and California, thus the name North Admiral combines the orientation to the junction with the name of the main cross street.