Montlake is an affluent residential neighborhood in central Seattle. The boundaries of the Montlake neighborhood are a collection of beautiful parks, lakes and waterways: to the east by the Arboretum, to the south and west by Interlaken Park. Capitol Hill is on its south and west sides, and the University of Washington lies across the Montlake Cut to the north. The Montlake Playfield, a project the Community Club began in 1929, faces Lake Union on the neighborhood’s northwest side. State Route 520 runs through the northern tip of Montlake, isolating four blocks from the rest of the neighborhood.
In 1944 the Montlake Community Club established the Montlake Public Library, which now serves the neighborhood from its new building on 24th Avenue East. Montlake is also home to Montlake Elementary School and Montlake Museum of History and Industry.
Like much of residential Seattle, Montlake is known for staunchly progressive politics.