Neighborhood Features and Amenities

Visit the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce at www.magnoliachamber.org for a complete list of businesses and services.

For a detailed map of the area, click here.

The Magnolia neighborhood is located on a peninsula bordered by the Ballard Locks to the north, Elliot Bay to the south and Puget Sound to the east. Living here is the best of both worlds – city living with a small town feel. Quiet residential streets, plenty of open spaces and beautiful vistas define living in Magnolia, while at the same time you are just minutes away from downtown Seattle, with access to all a big city has to offer.

Nearby, the Magnolia Village has a tree-lined main street populated with coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores and boutiques. For nature lovers, West Newton Flats is steps away from a biking and running trail that leads to Pier 91, Smith Cove Park, Elliott Bay Marina, and Myrtle Edwards park, which is situated along the downtown waterfront. Several parks are located nearby, offering playground equipment, picnic tables, barbeques, tennis courts, large open fields, hiking trails and unparalleled views of downtown Seattle, Elliott Bay and Puget Sound.

Why settle for a noisy, congested downtown location, when you can live in a luxurious, new condo home, surrounded by wide-open spaces and views? Experience all that Seattle has to offer, but come home to West Newton Flats, your in-city sanctuary.

Parks - Smith Cove, Myrtle Edwards, Ella Bailey, Magnolia and Discovery Attractions – Elliott Bay Marina, Ballard Locks, Fisherman’s Terminal, Interbay Golf Course, Award winning designed Public Library, Restaurants, Shopping, Services (go to www.MagnoliaChamber.org for a complete list), Public Transit – just one block away, #31 and #33 bus lines to downtown and the University District.

Magnolia History

West Newton Flats is located on former U.S. Government property purchased in 1942 to construct homes for the Naval Officers. The property borders a greenbelt and overlooks the 1941 site of the U.S. Naval Supply Depot. Whole Foods anchors a thriving shopping area on the former depot site.

Ft. Lawton, located at the north end of Magnolia, is a former Army installation built in 1901 and decommissioned in February 2012. The city of Seattle took over some of the original 700 acres of the fort creating Discovery Park and the Daybreak Indian Cultural Center. Adjacent to the park is two miles of beach and home of the West Point Lighthouse, built in 1881, making it the oldest lighthouse in the Puget Sound area. Several walking trails from the park lead to the lighthouse and surrounding beach.

Magnolia was inhabited 4000 years ago by migratory hunter/gatherer/fishers of the Shilshole Duwamish people. The earliest pioneer to settle in the area was Dr. Henry A. Smith, who staked a claim in 1851. Smith Cove is named for him. His vision was for shipping docks and a natural tidewater terminus for a transcontinental railway where the cove is located. Forty years later, the railroad did reach Seattle and subsequently the shipping piers became a reality. Since 2009, an average of about 260 cruise ships arrive from and depart to Alaska during the months of May-September from Pier 91, adjacent to Smith Cove and Elliott Bay Marina.