By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

After 41 years behind the cash register at Madison Park Hardware, Lola McKee thought she'd heard it all -- until a gentleman from Austria popped in to say hello.

He read about Madison Park in a German guide book featuring Seattle neighborhoods off the beaten tourist path.

McKee -- Madison Park's unofficial mayor -- was a little surprised by the neighborhood's international recognition, but she says it does have universal appeal.

"We live in a little utopia," she says, standing amid neat aisles of paint, tools, kitchen wares and household stuff.

Her store, like Madison Park's beloved Red Apple Market, is a throwback to early Seattle. Both allow customers to charge their purchases to store tabs. The Red Apple, managed by three generations of the Croshaw family, may have the distinction of being the only fully carpeted grocery store in Seattle.

And no wonder. A walk through Madison Park reveals an ambience of affluence and privilege. The neighborhood and nearby enclaves of Washington Park, Broadmoor and Denny Blaine have attracted Seattle's wealthiest families for generations -- and even a few celebrities such as rock star Courtney Love, who recently moved to Los Angeles.

The underlying wealth is reflected in the quality of homes, restaurants and speciality shops located under broad-limbed trees at the east end of Madison Street.

The commercial hub is at the foot of Madison, near the west end of the Evergreen Point Bridge. The fact that Madison Park is on a dead-end means less through traffic.

The effect is a small-town feel, "a village within the city," says Jean Viereck, a Broadmoor resident who has lived in the area for nearly 40 years.

Continued:

• Expensive homes, clubs are part of lifestyle here
• Well-educated populace involved in schools and community
• Events and hangouts help bind a tight-knit community