pacmed
The Pac Med building is one of the points of interest in the Beacon Hill neighborhood according to the American Planning Association. (AP Photo/File)

Seattle's Beacon Hill among nation's best neighborhoods

BY MyNorthwest.com  on October 4, 2012 @ 1:05 pm (Updated: 3:04 pm - 10/4/12 )

It might be a somewhat surprising pick to some, but the American Planning Association found that Seattle's Beacon Hill is one of the ten best neighborhoods in the country.

The diversity of people, architecture, and nature contributed to it's top ranking. The green space along the neighborhood's Cheasty Boulevard is a historic landmark.

The area also boasts one of the most distinctive buildings in the Seattle city skyline: Pacific Medical Center.

Nearby lightrail offers an advantage to residents heading to downtown Seattle or as far south as Sea-Tac on their commute.

It was only one of three neighborhood's west of the Mississippi picked as best of the best. Other neighborhoods included Fells Point in Baltimore, Md., Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, Pa., and Heritage Hill in Grand Rapids, Mich.

MyNorthwest.com, Staff report
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Comments (7)


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  • NoiseMan wrote...
    Any Seattle resident that reads the morning news knows better
    October 5, 2012 3:37 am
    Beacon Hill is a hotbed for drugs and crime. Within just the last three weeks alone there were 6 Assaults, 24 Burglaries, 9 Armed Robberies, 42 Thefts, 12 Reported Vandalism, 9 Warrant Arrests, & 23 other various crimes. This is only the past 3 weeks and only what was reported. Actually I'm surprised there isn't a murder or two in there. People that live there know that if they haven't been broken into in the last year, their neighbor has. I clearly wouldn't give much creedence to anything The American Planning Association publishes in the future. Someone abviously paid them to write this factless, feel-good story to satisfy some agenda.
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  • Porsche62 wrote...
    Beacon Hill is up and coming
    January 2, 2013 3:27 am
    Sure there is crime on Beacon Hill. I remember when Ballard was called "the white ghetto" back in the eighties". I have a place on Portage Bay and keep a boat there. We had plenty of crime at times with burglaries at the house boat communities, IV drug use under the University Bridge, plenty of domestic abuse which doesn't make it to the papers. The Red Robin was robbed at gunpoint twice a year.... A rape which flew under the radar etc.etc.. There is crime in other neighborhoods... Smart money is moving into Beacon Hill, specifically the areas North and West of the VA, where there are multiple offers on most houses. Plenty of yuppies from Amazon, Seattle Genetics, Expedia etc. etc. are moving in. North Beacon Hill is the most affordable in-city neighborhood- an overlooked gem with great views, easy access to freeways, light rail. The tremendous real estate value/deals will not last long. Try "Bar del Corso" on Beacon Ave South for pizza...rated the best in the city. Development was slowed 4 years ago due to the economy....Seattle is a can't miss city....The Beacon Hill neighborhood has changed and is changing for the better and as Seattle grows...so will your well invested real estate dollars up there....
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  • CH wrote...
    * Seattle's Beacon Hill among nation's best neighborhoods . . . .
    October 5, 2012 5:36 am
    4 gang banger's.
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  • Porsche62 wrote...
    Beacon Hill "One of the Best neighborhoods to move to now"
    January 2, 2013 3:42 am
    See the March issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine..
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • imanegro wrote...
    diversity?
    October 5, 2012 5:38 am
    I guess an all brown, all black, or all white neighborhood can't be "best." What a load of PC crap.
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  • Snout wrote...
    What the deuce?
    October 5, 2012 7:36 am
    I suppose if you only speak Chinese or are a thug, then it's an ok neighborhood (special emphasis on hood) at best. But really????
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  • Ye Olde Hagge wrote...
    Hmmmm.
    October 5, 2012 11:48 am
    Maybe they were just going off of pictures, or a quick drive through the area, rather than staying and spending some serious time there.
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