Cruising Seattle’s Lake Washington Emerald Coast

The northeast shoreline of Seattle on Lake Washington is known as the Emerald Coast of Seattle, the Emerald City. Seattle’s Lake Washington Emerald Coast neighborhoods are Madison Park, Harrison/Denny Blaine (commonly just “Denny-Blaine”) and Madrona. The Madison Park neighborhood includes the Seattle LW waterfront from the SR-520 Bridge to the north edge of the Seattle Tennis Club (p25 LW 130 Homes). Denny-Blaine is to the immediate south and includes the Seattle Tennis Club and the waterfront past the McCaw mansion on p38 of LW 130 Homes. Madrona is the next waterfront to the south. It includes Rob Glaser’s 3 lots and 2 mansions and the last (southern most) Seattle mansion in the book. That mansion belongs to Peter Rose and is on p40 of LW 130 Homes.

These are the prime Seattle neighborhoods. Before the floating bridges were built this was the area for the mansions of Seattle’s movers and shakers. Now the area is a diverse mix of old and new money along with some medium priced housing. There are many fantastic mansions, in addition to the shoreline, on the hills and surrounding the Broadmoor Golf Club. The Golf Club was founded in 1924 and overlooks Union Bay. The gated entrance to the Broadmoor Club and community is less than one mile from Madison Park’s waterfront park.

Madison Park (The Park)

Downtown Madison Park is one block inland

Madison Park pier/dock

Judge John J. McGilvra was the pioneer-founder of the Madison Park area in the 1860s when he acquired 420 acres in this area. A street is named after him. McGilvra built a road through forest from Seattle to his property and named it Madison Street after President James Madison. McGilvra set aside 24 acres for a public park at the end of Madison Street. The neighborhood was the home of “Madison Park” and assumed the same name.The Madison Park commercial district starts one block inland and covers about ten square blocks. It is an eclectic community of about 60 businesses including restaurants and coffee shops with sidewalk patio seating and various independently owned shops.

Reed Estate (left) and Washington Park Tower (right)

The 23 story Washington Park Tower is our landmark. It and the adjacent condos are to the immediate south of Madison Park (The Park). Washington Park Tower has 53 condominiums and was built in 1969. This is the highest residential building on Lake Washington.

At the Washington Park Tower Dock

The five waterfront homes south of here are in an exclusive gated community of nine homes. This is the 8 acre Reed Estate where Howard Schultz lives and where Gary Reed grew up. It was established in the early 1900s by Gary’s grandfather, Mark Edward Reed. It was that era’s version of the current Gates and Allen estates. It was subdivided in the 1940s into a private gated community of nine homes. The only homes here of the 1940s era are on LW 130 Homes pages 20 and 22. When the property was subdivided one of the mansions was cut into 3 pieces and barged to Mercer Island. It is the house on page 72 of LW 130 Homes and in the 2/16/12 post. The mansions (Schultz, Reed, Diamond, Alvord et al.) on Madison Park’s waterfront are featured in the 4/22/12 post.

Entrance gate to the Reed Estate nine home community

Mansion on Mercer Island that was barged from the Reed Estate

Denny-Blaine Waterfront with the Seattle Tennis Club in the foreground

Viewing Denny-Blaine in the spring

Denny-Blaine and Madrona have many fabulous old mansions with gorgeous grounds on the waterfront and on the hills above. Plus there are many newer modern mansions. The mansions (Ackerley, Horowitz, Ragen, Keister, Chesnut, Moll et al.) on north Denny Blaine’s waterfront are featured in the 4/20/12 post. The mansions (McCaw, Kurt Cobain, Blume, Robbins et al.) on south Denny Blaine’s waterfront are featured in the 4/19/12 post. The mansions (Glaser – Rose et al.) on Madrona’s waterfront are featured in the 4/14/12 post.

View from Denny-Blaine looking east

Rob Glasers Madrona 3 lot and 2 mansions compound

Where President Obama had lunch in 2010

(see Seattle Mansions 9/27/10 post)

(This is the third chapter [go to next chapter “Cruising NW Mercer Island”] of our “Lake Washington Cruising” series. The chapters are being posted in reverse order. When all chapters are posted they will be in order in this blog with the first chapter at the top. You can read and print an abbreviated pdf version of the entire series.)

Madison Park Waterfront Mansions

Schultz, Reed, Diamond, Alvord et al.

The 23 story Washington Park Tower is our landmark. The building has 53 condominiums and was built in 1969. This is the highest residential building on Lake Washington. It is very unlikely any more lake-front buildings close to this height will be built in the future because of zoning regulations. The residents enjoy incredible views. The three upper floors have two 2,200 sq ft, two bedroom units on each floor. The estimated value of each of these units is $2.2 million.

This mansion was featured in a Seattle Mansions 4/19/10 post. The listing price was $12.8 million. The home was purchased by Frederick Beau Gould and Julie Pigott Gould. Frederick is a Seattle attorney. Julie is active in numerous local charities with other members of the Pigott families. The former owners, Jack and Carol Briggs, were also active in charities and the home was featured as a wonderful site for many fund raisers. The home has a pool, two kitchens and three fireplaces. From the Ewing & Clark listing: “The home is wonderful for entertaining inside and outside. Inside there are large entertainment rooms with French craftsmen detailing. The outside features the pool, beautiful, well-maintained landscaping, sculptures and fountains.” The mansion has 7,470 sq ft of living space on 0.7 acres with 135 feet of waterfront.

This is the mansion of Howard D. and Sheri Schultz. Howard, his $21.7 million 2010 pay-package and the mansion were featured in a 11/3/11 Seattle Mansions post. Howard is the Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of Starbucks. The first Starbucks roasted and sold coffee beans and opened its first store in 1971. In 1985 Howard founded a new coffee and espresso company which, in 1987, acquired the original Starbucks’ assets and its name. Starbucks now has more than 15,000 stores throughout the world with $10 billion in annual sales. Howard was the lead investor of a group that purchased the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA from Barry Ackerley in 2001 (4/15/12 Seattle Mansions post). Howard’s group sold the team to Oklahoma City in 2008. The mansion and the one in the previous paragraph are in an exclusive gated community of nine homes that are on the property of the Reed Estate. (More information on the Reed Estate and Gary Reed is in the next paragraph.) Howard drives through the Estate’s gate and then another gate to his property. His mansion and property, with 16,880 sq ft on 1.8 acres with 248 ft of waterfront, are the largest in the Estate's community.

William G. “Gary” Jr. and Victoria Reed moved from their Medina home (LW 130 Homes page 100) in 2009 to this mansion. The Reeds and their mansions were featured in two 10/1/10 Seattle Mansions posts. This first post features his former Medina mansion that he sold for $22 million and the second post features this mansion. The new mansion has 7,700 sq ft on 0.7 acres with 60 feet of waterfront. The 8 acre Reed Estate where Howard Schultz lives (see previous paragraph) is where Gary grew up. It was established in the early 1900s by his grandfather, Mark Edward Reed. It was that era’s version of the current Gates and Allen estates. It was subdivided in the 1940s into a private gated community of nine homes. The Seattle Times labeled Gary “the most powerful Seattle business leader you’ve likely never heard of.” He is or has been on the Boards of Microsoft, Paccar, Safeco, The Seattle Times Company and Washington Mutual. Mark Edward Reed who joined Simpson Logging in 1897 was named president after the company’s founder, Sol Simpson, died in 1906. The Reed family bought out the Simpson family and the company is now one of the largest private, family owned companies in the state. It is now Tacoma-based Simpson Investment Company. Gary served as Chairman from 1971 to 1996. Gary’s nephew, Colin Moseley, who lives in the neighboring Reed Estate, is now Chairman and the fourth generation of Reed/Moseley family management.

$6.7 Million Sale 10/16/10. The mansion was listed for $7.9 million by Wendy Lister, CBBain. From the listing: “Beverly Hills glamour at waters edge. A curving wall of glass captures the constant change of reflections of water and sky ~ every turn an adventure of extravagance used with great restraint. Exquisite details with powerful moments of drama. Lavish master suite ~ his and her salons. French doors in the guest house cabana open to the black bottom free form pool. Significant entree for strong art collectors. 120' frontage. Brilliant azure lake hues...Bellevue city skyscape...Cascade mountains.” The sellers (the home was custom built for the family) were Joel and Julie Diamond. Joel is Chairman and CEO of Diamond Parking and is the son of Josef Diamond who was known in Seattle as the father of self-serve parking lots. Diamond Parking, founded in 1922 by the Diamond family, is the world’s oldest parking company and operates over 1,000 locations throughout the western United States. The purchasers were Ellsworth C. and Eve Alvord. Ellsworth is with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in their Seattle office. The Seattle Center Eve Alvord Theater is named after her. The Alvord family members are well known Seattle area philanthropists. The mansion is on page 23 and is 6,420 sq ft on 0.4 acres with 120 feet of waterfront. Ellsworth and Eve Alvord also own the mansion on LW 130 Homes page 26 that is about 0.2 miles south of here and three properties south of The Seattle Tennis Club.

The Seattle Tennis Club is just south of Madison Park in Denny-Blaine. The Seattle Tennis Club was founded a few blocks north of its present site as the Olympic Tennis Club in 1890. The name was changed to Seattle Tennis Club in 1896 and it moved to its current site in 1919. An $11.5 million renovation was completed in 1999. The club sits on 8 acres and offers its 3,000-plus members 19 tennis courts (including 6 indoor hard and 3 outdoor clay courts), a fitness center, squash courts, locker rooms, several dining rooms, banquet facilities, pool, beach, boathouse and pro shop. The club is popular for society wedding receptions. A non-equity membership is about $20,000 and monthly dues are about $250 plus a $100 per month dining minimum. There is a waiting list for memberships. Many members are the fourth generation of family members. This is the most expensive and prestigious tennis club in the PNW.

The tour of Seattle’s Emerald Coast waterfront mansions continues with north Denny-Blaine, south Denny-Blaine and Madrona posts.