The Highlands (Seattle)

The Highlands is a gated community in Shoreline, Washington, United States, 12 miles (19 km) north of Downtown Seattle. The community borders the northern edge of the Seattle city limits.

The neighborhood has been the home to the Boeing, Nordstrom, Pigott and Stimson families. Access to the community is through a security gate which is west of North 145th Street and Greenwood Avenue North, an entrance the neighborhood shares with the Seattle Golf Club.

Originally developed in 1907 by the Olmsted Brothers, The Highlands sits 450 feet (140 m) above Puget Sound. Prior to the homes being built, tracts in the development were distributed during a draw from a hat. Originally the neighborhood consisted of 50 tracts, currently there are 112 lots and 66 acres (27 ha) set aside for reservation or park property. Businessman Horace Chapin Henry was an original tract owner and donated the Florence Henry Memorial Chapel, which was built in 1911 and is now a part of St. Dunstan's Church of the Highlands Parish, Shoreline, Washington.

The Highlands was once an unincorporated suburb of Seattle and has always operated much like an independent city. In 1995 it became a part of the city of Shoreline. The Highlands boasts its own sewage system and roads which are property of the home owners association. The neighborhood has its own water source, street maintenance, and grounds keepers, making it almost completely independent of all third party utilities.

Highlands residents have hosted numerous dignitaries, including President John F. Kennedy, who was a guest at the home of Theilene Pigott McCone and her husband John McCone, then Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1994, the wedding reception for Bill Gates and his wife Melinda was held in the ballroom of the former Pigott McCone estate, a private home in the community.

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