The property, a government waterway, is administered by the state. It is 80 feet wide and runs from 42nd Avenue Northeast to the bay. The original developers of Laurelhurst intended to use this site for a community clubhouse and beach, according to Christine Barrett, author of A History of Laurelhurst.
Early photographs show that only a dock was built, however.
The site became known as Second Landing - one of three places on the Laurelhurst peninsula where a regularly scheduled launch could land passengers traveling to and from Madison Park, where a streetcar line ended. In 1946, after the launch had stopped running, the community club asked the city to develop the site as a park, but this was never done. Over the years, the neighbors have assumed responsibility for caretaking the property, and the current proposal to landscape it is an outgrowth of their stewardship. She devised bumper stickers and doorbelled tirelessly to defeat the proposed expressway, which would have bisected the neighborhoods north and south of the SR 520 Montlake interchange. On behalf of Laurelhurst Park and Laurelhurst Community Center, we'd like to express our thanks to Jeannie Hale for her many hours of advocating for the needs of Laurelhurst.