- Ballard is a neighborhood in northwestern Seattle, Washington, United States. Formerly an independent city, the City of Seattle’s official boundaries define it as bounded to the north by Crown Hill (N.W. 85th Street), to the east by Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and Fremont (along 3rd Avenue N.W.), to the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal, and to the west by Puget Sound’s Shilshole Bay. Like many neighborhoods in Seattle, its boundaries are loosely defined; these are the ones recognized by the city’s municipal departments.