Obscure little enclave has a loyal following

By TOM PAULSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

This tiny, relatively affluent corner of Seattle is one of the most unknown and isolated neighborhoods in the city.

No, residents frequently have to explain, not View Ridge. This is Blue Ridge, a covenant community north of Ballard and Crown Hill developed during the Depression by William Boeing for some of his airplane company executives.

Never heard of Blue Ridge? You're not alone. Many locals haven't heard of it either or can only vaguely tell you where it's located -- which is on Puget Sound north of Northwest 100th Street and south of Carkeek Park, mostly downslope toward the water from 15th Avenue Northwest.

"It's basically a big cul-de-sac," says Doug Dunham, a Seattle attorney who moved his family here from Phinney Ridge 15 years ago. There are only three reasons to be in Blue Ridge, Dunham says.

"You live here; you're visiting someone who lives here; or you're lost," he says.

This hillside community -- with some spectacular views of Puget Sound -- is divided by home-crowded ravines and persistent creeks. It is completely residential, with about 450 homes and covenant-restricted access to a community club, a swimming pool, tennis courts, playfields and a private beach.

"Everyone who owns a lot is a shareholder in the corporation," says Harvey Losh, a retired dentist who came to Blue Ridge in 1949 before it was part of Seattle. "Blue Ridge isn't a place to live. It's a way of life."

Losh is often referred to as the "mayor of Blue Ridge," thanks to his long tenure and multiple terms as community club president. Given all his activities, his wife, Marion, prefers to call him the "janitor of Blue Ridge."

The couple lives near the southeastern corner of the community in a pink house that matches Marion's pink Cadillac. It's the only pink house in Blue Ridge, a feature that Losh admits might not pass muster today with the community's design committee -- had it not been grandfathered in.

"Yeah, we take some static about it," Losh laughs. "But it's a landmark now."

Blue Ridge is removed from the typical urban hustle and bustle. Its geographic location and limited street access assure it a strong sense of place, identity and privacy.

"It's like living in a small town in the big city," says Dave Taylor, current president of the board at Blue Ridge Club Inc. and director of the Pacific Science Center. Before he moved here from another part of Seattle, Taylor says he and his family knew only a few of their neighbors.

"It's really a great family neighborhood," says Kevin Sullivan, an attorney who lives in one of the Boeing-built brick "castles." Sullivan and his wife, Susan, have three children -- Patrick, Anna and Fallon, are all on the community swimming team.

Blue Ridge has produced more than its fair share of prize-winning swimmers.

"This is one of those places that you move to and live in for the rest of your life," Sullivan says. "It's not just a community in name; it really is a community."

That's pretty much what everyone says when you ask them why they live in Blue Ridge: It's a neighborhood that feels like one.

"It doesn't feel like the city," says Patricia Chase, who recently moved to a Blue Ridge home that borders Carkeek Park. "It's sort of a 'Leave it to Beaver' kind of place."

Blue Ridge does feel like a 1950s TV sitcom, but mostly in a good way. This is a place where kids can safely ride their bicycles on the streets or wander along a clean beach; where crime is infrequent and neighbors not only know each other but play together.

It's not cheap living here and you have to play by a few extra rules, but most in Blue Ridge think it's worth it.