The affluent residential neighborhood where Bill Gates grew up, Laurelhurst is just east of UW, bounded by Mary Gates Dr on the west, Sand Point Way on the north, Ivanhoe Pl on the northeast, and Lake Washington or Union Bay on the east and south. The Laurelhurst Community Center and adjoining park is a center of neighborhood activity. Just off Mary Gates Dr is the UW’s Center for Urban Horticulture. Laurelhurst Elementary School in just north of the park. Villa Academy is a large independent Catholic K-8 school housed on the ground of a former Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart Convent founded by Mother Cabrini. Eckstein Middle School and Roosevelt High School serve the neighborhoods 6-8 and 9-12 students. Another major Laurelhurst institution is Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Pacific NW’s major pediatric hospital.
Just across Sand Point Way, the Burke-Gliman Trail provides easy walking and bike access to the UW. The 25 bus goes through the heart of Laurelhurst along NE 45th, winding its way all the down to NE 33rd before heading to the UW and eventually downtown. The 30 & 74 go along Sand Point Way to the U District, going across the Princeton Street Bridge through the southern portion of Hawthorne Hills on NE 55th, while the 75 continues along Sand Point Way making a big crescent between UW and Northgate. The 995 provides special service from Laurelhurst and Windermere to exclusive private schools in north Seattle such as University Prep, Lakeside and Evergreen.