# Roosevelt, Seattle

Roosevelt is a neighborhood in northern Seattle, Washington. Its main thoroughfare, originally 10th Avenue, was renamed Roosevelt Way upon Theodore Roosevelt's death in 1919. The neighborhood received the name as the result of a Community Club contest held eight years later, in 1927.
Roosevelt's principal and minor arterials are the one-way pair Roosevelt Way (southbound) and 12th Avenue NE (northbound), Lake City Way (SR 522) and 15th Avenue NE, and NE 65th and 75th Streets. City streets are laid out and designated in a pattern; see street layout of Seattle, directionals.
The boundaries of the neighborhood are Interstate 5 to the west, beyond which lies Green Lake; NE Ravenna Boulevard and NE 60th Street to the south, beyond which is the University District; 15th Avenue NE to the east, beyond which is Ravenna; and Lake City Way (SR 522) to the north, beyond which lies Maple Leaf.

## Schools

The Roosevelt district is also home to Roosevelt High School (RHS, opened 1922), one of the older schools in the Seattle Public Schools District. Like the street, it is named after Teddy, not Franklin D. Roosevelt. For many years, Roosevelt High School and Garfield High School juggled the lead in the school district in many academic and sports fields. Alumni include Mark Pattison, who played football for the University of Washington Huskies and was drafted in the seventh round in 1985 by the Oakland Raiders of the NFL, actress Rose McGowan,(also attended Nova) and Nobel laureates Linda B. Buck and Robert Lucas Jr.

## Shops

Although primarily a residential neighborhood, the Roosevelt district had a Sears department store from 1928 to 1980. After its closure, the land was redeveloped as Roosevelt Square, which now features supermarket Whole Foods Market and a Mud Bay pet store among other businesses. A block beyond Roosevelt Way to the west is the longest-established vegetarian restaurant in Seattle, independent Sunlight Cafe, nearly as old (1978) as Starbucks. Numerous other small businesses still line 65th Street and Roosevelt Way. Teddy's is a multi-generational, multi-subculture popular biker bar. Roosevelt Way from 62nd Street north to 64th was somewhat of an "audio row", having featured a concentration of stores selling high-end audio and video systems and components. Today, only two such stores remain.

## Parks

The neighborhood includes two parks: Cowen Park, in the southeast corner (contiguous with the larger Ravenna Park of Ravenna); and Froula Playground, in the northeast corner, adjacent to the Green Lake Reservoir. The source of Ravenna Creek has been reduced to Cowen Park; since completion of the partial daylighting in 2006, the creek has been reconnected to Lake Washington.

## Transportation

The underground Roosevelt Link light rail station located at NE 65th St and 12th Ave NE opened for service on October 2, 2021, which connects Roosevelt to downtown Seattle as well as the Northgate neighborhood to the north.
The Roosevelt Light-Rail Station sparked remarkable growth in the area. During the nine-year transit construction period, the neighborhood transformed by replacing single-family homes with midrise apartments. Between 2016 and the opening of rail in 2021, there was a 95% increase in housing units, totaling 1,626 new residences.