Maple Leaf, Seattle, Washington

Maple Leaf is a mostly residential neighborhood located in northeast Seattle.

The area that is now the Maple Leaf neighborhood appeared on maps in 1894 as a plat by real estate promoters and was called the Maple Leaf Addition to the Green Lake Tract. The name may have come from the Maple Saw Mill that operated to the east on Lake Washington or from some maple trees that once grew in the area. There is also an apocryphal story that Maple Leaf was so far north of downtown Seattle that it got its name for being near Canada.

It wasn't until after World War II that the entirety of Maple Leaf neighborhood was within the Seattle city limits. Prior to 1954 the city line was located at 85th Street, but after a series of annexations took place the city limits moved to its current location of 145th Street.

Although Seattle neighborhood boundaries are unofficial, Maple Leaf lies between Interstate 5 in the west and State Route 522 (also known as Lake City Way) in the east. The neighborhood goes as far north as Northgate Way and as far south as NE 75th Street.

Bordering neighborhoods include Roosevelt neighborhood to the south; Pinehurst and Victory Heights neighborhoods of the Northgate district to the north; Lake City and Wedgwood neighborhoods to the east; North College Park or Licton Springs neighborhood to the west.

The highest point in Maple Leaf, located on 92nd Street and Roosevelt Way, is 466 feet above sea level, making it the third highest point of elevation in Seattle.

Distinctive features of the neighborhood include the water tower and reservoir located at 85th and Roosevelt, plus historic Waldo Hospital at 85th NE and NE 15th. The water tower is painted with a distinctive coupling of maple leaves viewable from Interstate 5.

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