The neighborhood, wedged between the busy corridors of Interstate 5 and Aurora Avenue, takes its name from líq’tәd (LEEK-teed) or Licton, the Lushootseed (Whulshootseed) Coast Salish word for the reddish mud of the springs—.

The natural spring fed Green Lake before it was capped and drained to the Metro sewer system after it became contaminated by residential development (1920, 1931).

A park does exist today (where Woodlawn Avenue curves to connect with N 95th Street) in which the spring is located.

[3] In the mid-1960s restoration began with bond issues and increasing volunteer assistance, resulting in a small pond and natural wetland vegetation as well as urban park amenities.

Running on a narrow right-of-way through backyards, the whistle became part of the atmosphere of neighborhoods like Licton Springs.

[10] Neighborhood activists and North Seattle Community College (NSCC) have been promoting habitat restoration in support.