My Neighborhood

I live in the neighborhood of Lake Hills in Bellevue, WA on Seattle’s Eastside. Situated between Lake Washington to west, with the Olympics mountains beyond that, and Lake Sammamish to the east with the Cascades in the distance. Mount Rainier is visible to the south and Baker to the north, one quickly appreciates why the city was named “beautiful view.”

This region has been inhabited by humans for an estimated 10,000 years. As you may, know the Coast Salish peoples lived throughout Cascadia for centuries before this part of the world was colonized by European settlers. This particular land was home to the Sammamish, and I recently discovered that the Yakama also had a winter encampment near Larsen Lake. Larsen Lake is a short walk from my home, just south of Kelsey Creek Center, and surrounded by our local blueberry patch.

British explorer, George Vancouver was the first European to visit this area during his 1791-95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest, with the first White colonizers arriving in the 1830s. The founding of the city of Seattle is usually identified as 1851, with the Denny Party at Alki Point. While Bellevue was “claimed” by William Meydenbauer eighteen years later. Prior to the opening of the floating bridge across Lake Washington (1940), the area was accessible by ferry from Seattle and was mostly farmland.

Beginning in the early 1900s many Japanese-American farmers settled in this area, mostly between Larsen and Phantom Lakes. These farmers cultivated the land, growing – among other things – the strawberries which inspired our neighborhood’s annual summer Strawberry Festival.

Our first Strawberry festival was held in 1925 and ran through 1941. But beginning in March of ’42, the US government systematically violated the constitutional rights of these Japanese American farmers who owned the farms and grew the strawberries. There were 55 Japanese American family owned farms, totaling 472 acres of land that are now part of the Lake Hills neighborhood. Nearly 10 thousand Japanese American residents were unjustly imprisoned in the internment camp we know today as the Puyallup State Fairground. No farmers, no festival. The Strawberry Festival was eventually revived and has been an annual celebration and time of remembering since 1987. COVID-19 caused us to cancel our 2020 festival, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for next year.

Bellevue incorporated in 1953, and the Crossroads neighborhood was annexed in 1964, with Lake Hills following in 1969 (the year I was born). In the mid-1950s Lake Hills was proposed as the the largest planned community in the Pacific Northwest. It was the first intentionally designed neighborhood in the region with streets, infrastructure, shopping, public areas, schools, houses of worship, and 4000 homes. There were 8 primary home plans designed for Lake Hills, all reflect the late mid-century design of that era. Sadly – in my opinion – the city has done little to protect or preserve unique mid-century feel of our neighborhood. Yet, when you walk through our neighborhood you will still see these home designs.

Today’s Mid-century Homes of Lake Hills

Here are just a few other links to read more about our neighborhood.

• Lake Hills Demographics
• US Census Data (Note: the Census Bureau does not organize data on the Neighborhood level so you’ll have to approximate its “tracts” for your neighborhood or parish)
• Area Vibes, “Livability Score“
• Seattle Magazine, “Best Pocket Neighborhoods“
• Next Door
• East Bellevue Community Council, “We are Lake Hills“

Peace, dwight