This history of Lake City School is taken from the second edition of Building for Learning: Seattle Public School Histories, which includes histories of every school building used by the district since its formation around 1862. The original essay was written for the 2002 first edition by Nile Thompson and Carolyn J. Marr, and updated for the 2024 edition by HistoryLink contributor Tom G. Heuser.
Along the Highway
The community of Lake City developed along the state highway running from Seattle through Bothell to Monroe. Early Lake City found itself divided between three school districts: Maple Leaf, Oak Lake, and Lake Forest Park. Lake City School District No. 180 was created from parts of those districts in summer 1912. That fall the first Lake City School opened for 12 pupils in a house donated by H. L. Hilman at 37th Avenue NE and NE 123rd Street. During the first school year, property was purchased as a permanent site. The following year the school operated temporarily (September-December) in a camp store owned by C. T. Chittenden while the new school was being completed. The new school opened in January 1914 at 28th Avenue NE and NE 125th Street.
Two trees were planted in front of the school on Arbor Day 1919 in memory of two young neighborhood men who lost their lives, one in a sawmill accident and the other in World War I. The trees remained there as late as 1961. Also in 1919, two classrooms were added to the building.
In 1931, a new Georgian-style Lake City School was opened on a site across the street and about a block away from the old school. As the school population continued to grow, a four-room addition was made in 1939. Another three classrooms were added in 1943.The population of the Lake City area grew following World War II. This growth meant a triple-shift for kindergarten classes and double-shifts for the primary grades at Lake City School, which was then in Shoreline School District No. 412. With the opening of Jane Addams Junior High School in September 1949, Lake City became a K-6 school. Enrollment peaked in 1952-1953 with 1,144 pupils. Some classes met in the old 1914 Lake City School building. With the opening of Pinehurst in 1950, followed by Rogers (1953), Northgate (1953), and Olympic Hills (1954), some pressure was lifted.
New schools were still needed even after Lake City School was annexed into Seattle Public Schools. Cedar Park opened in 1956 as an annex to Lake City for grades 1-3. This expansion of schools, combined with a dropping birthrate and changing demographics in the neighborhood, resulted in a decline in enrollment at Lake City to about 550 in 1961 and 370 in 1974. With fewer classes in 1972-1973, Lake City was able to combine two classrooms to make room for a model math lab, the first in the city.
In 1969, the demographics of students enrolled at Lake City School changed with the advent of the district’s desegregation plan, which involved busing students from other neighborhoods with the goal of racially and socio-economically balancing the school’s student body. In 1970, the Jackson Park Housing Project opened to the west of Lake City and a more diverse population began moving into existing Lake City houses and apartments. Lake City was paired with Martin Luther King Early Childhood Education Center in 1974-1975 as part of a federal program to increase contact between school-age children of different backgrounds.
Closed in 1981
Lake City School closed in June 1981. The district established a 50-year ground lease with Lake City Professional Building, LLC, which allowed the lessee to improve and construct what was necessary to turn the location into a professional center. The former school was converted and opened as offices in 1987. The original school entrance was preserved, and two large entry structures of the same style were added to either side of the old gym.
On March 18, 2009, the City of Seattle designated the Lake City School building as a historic landmark. Four years later, the windows were retrofitted. In 2018, the district terminated and bought back the lease from the Lake City Professional Building, LLC. The district is continuing to operate the site as an office building and is collecting annual rental revenue, while holding the site in reserve in case it may be needed in the future for district use. As of 2020, the building housed a variety of medical and dental offices.
History
Lake City School
Location: 28th Avenue NE & (N)E 125th Street
Building: 2-room wood
Architect: n.a.
Site: n.a.
1914: Opened in January
1919: Addition (n.a.)
1931: Closed
1944: Became part of Shoreline School District
1952-53: Used as annex to new building
1954: Annexed into Seattle School District
1958: Sold to City of Seattle
n.a.: Demolished
Present: Site of Lake City Branch of Seattle Public Library
Lake City School
Location: 2611 NE 125th Street
Building: Wood and brick veneer
Architect: n.a.
Site: 5.57 acres
1931: Opened
1939: Addition (n.a.)
1943: Addition (n.a.)
1944: Became part of Shoreline School District
1954: Annexed into Seattle School District
1981: Closed in June; short-term lease to local citizens' group
1985: Former playground sold to Seattle Parks Department
1986: Long-term lease
1987: Building remodeled
2009: Designated City of Seattle landmark on March 18
2018: District terminated lease with payment
Present: Site of Lake City Professional Center
