Magnolia (Seattle part 2)

My mom grew up in Seattle. She learned to drive on the ups and downs of Magnolia and Queen Anne. She went to Queen Anne High School (which is now condos). So, Sunday afternoon after we visited Kubota Garden we traveled over to visit my mom's childhood memories.


As a child she lived in three different houses in Magnolia. Each move brought her family further up the hill. They ended up here in the house here. To me this was always Grandma's house. It used to be painted dark brown with yellow trim. The house is now an extended care group home as an alternative to nursing home care. The workers there let us come inside for a quick look. My memories consisted of summers and Christmases spent there. My memories rushed through me like crazy. I can only imagine how strong a wave of emotions it was for my mom to look into her old bedroom. To look at the corner near the huge window where they always put the Christmas tree. Those tiny details that childhood memories pull out of us.

I remember picking blackberries in front of the house. I didn't take any pictures of the grown over bushes still there as it was the wrong season. It would have been pictures of sticks. My mom later reminded me of the bushes at the elementary school where we spent more time picking the berries.


This is the view my mom grew up with. I will admit I couldn't be as high up as the picture window of the house, so I stepped to the otherside of the street to get the picture. There was a small tree in the way otherwise. Still, isn't it beautiful? From what I understand the houses in this area have skyrockets in cost over the past twenty years. No wonder!






My mom attended Magnolia Elementary, now closed. It seems that the population of Magnolia and Queen Anne through the 1970's-1980's had a shift from families to primarily adult residences. I read in my searches of the area that in at the 1990 census only 15% of the population of Magnolia was children and only 10% of Queen Anne. Which explains why most of the schools there have been closed. Magnolia Elementary is closed now. For several years recently it was used while another school which had burnt down was being rebuilt but it is again empty. The playfield behind, which I remember playing at, is being converted into a park. The park will have the best views I've ever seen at a park. See this article to learn more.


As a teen my mom attended Queen Anne High School. (This is linked to the school's alumni association web site. I link it as much for my mom who was singing the fight song as we drove around the school.)

Here is a great article about the Queen Anne area. It explains the High School was saved in the 1970's from being torn down by Historic Seattle. In order to save the amazing building it was turned into condos.


I wish I could do justice here to the stories my mom shared as we drove around the two hills. It sounds like an amazing place to grow up. What struck me more than anything is mix of new developments and the strong history around every corner. While driving around Queen Anne we came across this house. I somehow doubt that this is how it was painted when originally built. I think it is a perfect example of the creative expression I found throughout the city. The old architecture of Queen Anne, the hair styles on the young people I saw in Ballard. The magnificent views EVERYWHERE! There are parks around every corner, which actually have grass and history! One of the parks on Magnolia "Magnolia Park" leads practically to the water's edge. (The site linked with Magnolia Park also explains why the community got the name "Magnolia")

I think the few hours we spent just driving around these two communities were my favorite of the whole trip. I am so lucky to have gotten to see some of the important places of my mom's childhood. The stories of pirates and feeding the elderly are priceless. I need to keep encouraging my mom to write them down. If that fails..I'll have to pull out that tape recorder.

Keep an eye out for the next installment The Space Needle (Seattle part 3)