- Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood overlooks Lake Washington from the eastern rim of the city. Madrona’s hilly origins arise from the Vashon Glacier, which melted 40,000 years ago, leaving flood waters and ice to shape Lake Washington and other Pacific Northwest landmarks. Its first life was as a Native American hunting and fishing ground. Seattle was founded (in 1851), and from the 1880s to 1900, Madrona was overrun by loggers, stump farmers, berry pickers, and realtors. The beginning of the Madrona we know today was the introduction of the Union Trunk Line, which ran from the top of the hill at 34th Avenue and Union Street to Madrona Park and beach.