Wallingford is a hilly neighborhood of older Seattle residents and young families which sits just to the north of Lake Union, east of Fremont, west of the University District, and south of Greenlake.

Understand

Wallingford's main commercial district runs along NE 45th Street, stretching more than a mile from Stone Way on the west to the bridge over Interstate I-5. Wallingford is among the most liberal neighborhoods politically in Seattle, which is saying a lot. Although apartment buildings dot the hillsides throughout the neighborhood, most of the homes in Wallingford are 1920's-1930's "bungalow" style Craftsman houses.

Many of these have been either kept in good repair or restored in the last several decades to their Arts & Crafts style. One of the quirks of Wallingford noted by outsiders is the lack of stop signs at any of the intersections of its streets -- the neighborly cooperation of its inhabitants must keep Wallingford residents from needing traffic direction.

While not as historically eccentric as Fremont, quietly upscale as Greenlake, or youthfully bustling as the U-District, Wallingford's sidewalks and stores have a neighborly familiarity that allows its inhabitants to see each other frequently and know each other well, creating the feeling of a "small town within a big city". The southern boundary of Wallingford spills into Lake Union and features the oddly endearing Gasworks Park.

Get in

Get around

See

• QFC Supermarket. The thing to see here is the gigantic blue neon sign proclaiming the neighborhood's name. It originally said "FOOD GIANT", the name of the store, but after it was bought by the QFC chain, it was slated to be removed. The neighborhood fought to keep it, and it has now become (perhaps for lack of anything grander) the local landmark.

• Gas Works Park, or "Gasworks", as locals call it, prominently features the rusting, hulking remains of the city's old gasworks piping and machinery -- as well as a solitary bump of a hill offering the ideal spot for kite flying and views across the lake of sailboats, float planes landing, and downtown Seattle at sunset.

Do

• Kiddie pool in Wallingford park

Buy

• Wide World Books & Maps [1] 4411A Wallingford Ave N. Possibly the best travel bookstore in the Pacific Northwest, and in fact the first store of its kind in the U.S. With frequent lectures and book readings, they also run tours. Here's hoping they'll carry a paper edition Wikitravel some day.

Eat

Budget

• Dick's Hamburgers a local legend of a drive-in/drive-out burger joint which has served the dual purpose of providing a gathering place for high school amd UW students before and after sporting events.

Drink

Sleep

Get out