[citation needed] Capitol Hill is on its south and west sides, and the University of Washington campus lies across the Montlake Cut to the north.

[citation needed]) Montlake first became politically active in a failed battle to move or avoid building State Route 520 through the northern section of the neighborhood and the arboretum.

The expressway was to be a second north–south freeway through the city, parallel to Interstate 5 but cutting through Ravenna, Montlake, Madison Valley, and the Central District, taking out the western section of the Arboretum in the process.

][citation needed] Montlake saw a spike in housing prices and the demolition or renovation of several smaller homes starting in the late 1980s, as new residents bought up properties in the neighborhood because of its charm, good schools, and central location.

It includes the Italian restaurant Cafe Lago, Mr. Johnson's Antiques, a branch of Seattle Public Library, a small market, and dry cleaner.

[citation needed] The houses in Montlake are primarily single-family homes, mainly early 20th century American Craftsman bungalow and Tudor style.

[citation needed] Montlake has one church, the Greek Orthodox St. Demetrios, built in 1963 on the grounds of a former garden business called Dahlialand.