For a place that was named by accident, Magnolia has grown to be one of Seattle’s most desirable neighborhoods.  History buffs and long time residents know that a member of the U.S. Coastal Survey actually named Magnolia Bluff because he thought our Madrona trees with their distinctive red bark were Magnolias.  He was wrong, but the name stuck and the neighborhood known as Magnolia has recovered nicely from the naming mistake.

Those of us who live here know it is a pretty amazing place.  Magnolia gives you the best of all worlds; it’s like living in a small town with the benefit of being just minutes from a big city.

Located on a peninsula west of Queen Anne Hill, south of the Ballard Locks and a few minutes from downtown Seattle, Magnolia is one of the western-most spots in the city.  Accessible by three bridges, Magnolia has natural boundaries that give residents the feeling of living on an island (map).

Magnolia is a vibrant neighborhood with a busy business district known as The Village.  This is the main hub of activity in Magnolia with restaurants, shops and professional services.  A visit to The Village usually includes running into someone you know, and can often leave you feeling like you live in the fictional town of Mayberry RFD.  But in a good way.

Magnolia is still small enough that it is likely you will know the name of your Bartell’s checker, the guy at the post office and the kid who just started working at Thriftway.  Magnolia is family focused but there are also many apartments and a growing number of condos and townhomes attracting a younger crowd.  

MagnoliaVoice.com is brought to you by the folks behind MyBallard.com and PhinneyWood.com, two next door neighborhoods. Magnolia Voice is dedicated to becoming the neighborhood’s community news source. We look to our readers to help us cover the news from the neighborhood with tips and comments. We want to be a spot where you can share your thoughts and ideas as we debate the issues that are important to all of us.

We’ve lived in Magnolia for over 20 years and we feel pretty connected to our little burg.  We both work in the communications world, and to be honest, we are pretty naturally nosy.   Hence the names Gladys and Abner for the famous nosy neighbors on the TV series Bewitched.

So if you see something interesting, please let us know. New store? Road construction? Interesting news from the schools? Land use issue? Accident? Lost pet? Sports team news?  Help us out and drop us a tip at tips@magnoliavoice.com.

And if you’re new to Magnolia, explore the neighborhood here.

- Gladys and Abner Kravitz

MagnoliaVoice.com is a Next Door Media site.