If you're visiting, check out these spots:

• Take a little tour: To get the feel of the place, take Rainier Avenue South and turn east on South McClellan Street. At Mount Rainier Drive, turn south. Then go east on South Ferris Street and turn north on Cascadia Avenue South, which eventually curves back down to McClellan. Then, return to Rainier Avenue via Mount Baker Boulevard or go north on Lake Park Drive South to Lake Washington Boulevard South.

• Ride a bike: One of the best bicycle routes in Seattle is along Lake Washington Boulevard South. As the weather warms up, swim at Mount Baker Beach at the intersection of Lake Park Drive South and Lake Washington Boulevard.

• Get a bite to eat: The Baker's Beach Cafe, 3601 S. McClellan St., is a popular meeting place across from the playground and tennis courts of Mount Baker Park. That's Amore Italian restaurant, 1425 31st S., offers a big western view of Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle. Borracchini's Bakery & Mediterranean Market, Rainier Avenue South, has been a delicatessen fixture for more than 70 years. Rainier Avenue South also features an array of Indochinese cuisine.

• The Mount Baker Community Club: Just behind Baker's Beach Cafe is a community center that's home to what the club says is the oldest continuously operating community club in the United States. Lots of couples find the spacious center a good spot to get married. The building, 2811 Mount Baker Drive S., was completed in 1914 and restored after an arson in 1992.

• Franklin High School: An impressive Renaissance structure with Grecian temple roof, the school at 3013 S. Mount Baker Blvd. was built in 1912, expanded in 1925 and again in the 1950s. Seattle School District plans to demolish the building were turned back by the neighborhood and a total renovation was completed in 1989, prompting locals to refer to the high school as the "Hotel Franklin."

• Historic and architecturally significant homes: R.C. Force House, 2810 Cascadia S., one of the first homes built in the district; Dr. Bouffler House, built in 1925; Peterson House, 3303 Hunter Blvd. S., built in 1913; Bowles House, 2520 Shoreland Dr. S., built in 1925.

• A big bridge view: Take in the Lake Washington bridge from Lake Washington Boulevard atop portals of tunnels that take Interstate 90 traffic through Mount Baker.

• The pits: That's the Stan Sayres Memorial Hydroplane Pits, along Lake Washington Boulevard South in Mount Baker Park. This has been the site of the motorboat races since the 1940s and named after Stan Sayres, who built the "Slo-Mo-Shun" hydroplane that revolutionized the sport.