Rather than clash of cultures, residents here join together

By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A quartet of fifth-grade "forest guides" at Dearborn Park Elementary on Beacon Hill are thrilled to cut class and be tour guides for the morning.

Racing from their schoolhouse into Dearborn Park, the 10-year-olds are a fount of knowledge about the environment and Northwest history gleaned from walks with their teacher, Janice Hunt.

"This is snowberry," says Nyema Clark, her braided, beaded hair bouncing with enthusiasm. "Native Americans used it for shampoo."

"And there is a licorice fern," says Gregory Hill, pointing to a lacy fern growing at the base of a big-leaf maple.

Does it taste like licorice? "It did to the Native Americans," he says, not missing a beat.

The students also have a "multicultural garden" to show visitors. Every spring, Dearborn students fill raised beds, built by Parks Department employees, with vegetables and plants.

And the grade school is a rainbow of color and race.

It draws from Beacon Hill, where wave upon wave of immigrants have come for the past 100 years.

It was Italians who for years owned and ran many of the bakeries, restaurants, markets and shoe shops that dot Beacon Avenue South. Now Asians dominate the marketplace.

The neighborhood's ethnicity is remarkable, even for Seattle. More than half its residents are of Asian descent.

Neighborhood businesses such as Inay's Kitchen and South China Restaurant -- two longtime favorites -- reflect Beacon Hill's worldly community. And what other neighborhood has two Filipino video stores -- Philippine Video Plaza and Manila Videos?

Dan Ko, who runs the South China Restaurant with his brother, Sid, says the neighborhood continues to evolve with more Southeast Asians moving in.

At the same time, Ko says, a lot of Beacon Hill's older families have headed to the suburbs. "We still have a lot of regulars who come back to eat or for take-out," Ko says.

Rather than a clash of cultures or values, residents have joined together to fight airplane noise, lobby for a new library, plant street trees and build parks.

It is not easy, residents say, in part because City Hall has neglected Beacon Hill needs for too many years.

"Historically, the South End was a minority neighborhood and the city has not made the infrastructure improvements, whether it's the library or a lack of parks. We have good bus service, but the other amenities are not there," says Frederica Merrell, a member of the North Beacon Hill Council.

The neighborhood's two business districts show signs of the struggle. Most shops are too small to attract shoppers from other areas and many are family-owned, making it hard for those owners to take time to join the local chamber of commerce or volunteer their time, Merrell says.

Beacon Hill is unique in that it has yet to attract a single Starbucks, Bruegger's Bagels or other chain outlet. Some residents say that's a blessing.

But Beacon Hill has the population and wealth to support much more. Its north end is dotted with grand turn-of-the-century homes rivaling those found in many other Seattle neighborhoods. Its south end is filled with well-cared-for brick ramblers and split-level homes. Both ends of the hill enjoy territorial views to the east and west.

More:

• El Centro is central to community's soul