By Ken Urman, Realtor
The Fairmount Park community in West Seattle is located
between two north-to-south ridges that extend the length of West Seattle,
running roughly along 37th Avenue SW (on the east) and 42nd
Avenue SW (on the west). Local records trace the name for the area to a Seattle
realtor who was familiar with Philadelphia, and named the area after a
Philadelphia park. This name became official when it was applied to the area by
the Seattle Planning Commission in 1954.
Today, the Fairmount Park neighborhood is
roughly four to eight blocks wide, extending between California Avenue SW (on
the west) and 35th Avenue SW (on the east), and basically follows SW
Fauntleroy Way (one of the busiest primary roads in West Seattle) from SW
Edmonds and SW Genesee Street on the north, and running south to SW Raymond
Street. SW Fauntleroy Way runs approximately four miles, and is characterized
by almost continuous residential and commercial development. There are a few
diagonal sections of SW Fauntleroy Way that were once part of the Seattle
Electric Railway Company route in 1907.
Many of the single family homes in the Fairmount Park
neighborhood were built between the 1940s and1960s. The residences
(single-family homes and townhomes) on the slopes and in the low-lying areas
near the Playfield were built more recently.
Fairmount Park covers roughly 475 acres, with 4,636
residents (according to the 2010 Census). Their average age was 35.2 years. The
average household size was 2.0 people, and the average family size was 2.7
people.
After
several years of disuse, the Fairmount Park Elementary School is about to
undergo improvements and revitalization. The current building will be expanded
into a two-story building of 19.122 square feet, including an expansion to
accommodate 10 additional classrooms. When completed, the school will be able
to handle as many as 500 students. The improvements and expansion will allow
SPS (Seattle Public Schools) to demolish to portable classrooms previously
added to the school. The goal is to complete the expansion in 2014 and current
plans seem to indicate it will be used as a neighborhood elementary school.
The neighborhood essentially has retained its character as a
middle-class neighborhood. Its consistent history, as well as its location and
proximity to Fairmount Park Playground, the historic Fairmount Park school, and
the activity hub of SW Fauntleroy Way make it very desirable.
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