West Dravus Street End provides shoreline access in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood along Puget Sound where Dravus Street meets the water. Dravus is part of an alphabetical series of streets—Aetna, Bertona, Cremona, Dravus, Etruria, and Florentia—all named after locations in Italy, appearing on the 1888 plat map of Denny and Hoyt's Addition to the City of Seattle seventeen years after Italy's unification. The section connecting Queen Anne and Magnolia via Interbay was originally known as Grand Boulevard, with West Dravus remaining double the width of other area streets featuring wide planting strips instead of a central median. The Dravus Street Bridge opened to traffic in 1931, providing critical access into Magnolia's heart and connecting the isolated peninsula to the rest of Seattle. Perkins Lane West hosts six shoreline street ends including this location among Seattle's designated public access points.
Kayaking and paddleboarding launch from the street end into Puget Sound for exploration along Magnolia's shoreline with routes toward Discovery Park, Elliott Bay Marina, and protected waters offering Olympic Mountain views and maritime scenery. Beachcombing reveals smooth beach stones polished by wave action, driftwood logs from Pacific storms, mussel and barnacle shells clinging to rocks, and beach glass in various colors deposited by tides. Wildlife watching includes harbor seals hauling out on nearshore rocks and hunting for fish, bald eagles perching in mature shoreline trees and soaring on thermal currents, great blue herons stalking shallow waters during low tides, and seabirds including cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and scoters. Views span across Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountains creating dramatic western vistas, with shipping lanes carrying cargo vessels toward Elliott Bay, Washington State Ferries crossing between Seattle and Bainbridge Island, and recreational boats enjoying the sound's protected waters. The street end's wide right-of-way reflects its original Grand Boulevard designation, providing generous public access to Magnolia's waterfront.
Magnolia dining offers diverse neighborhood options near West Dravus Street End. Palisade creates Pacific Northwest cuisine including Dungeness crab cakes and grilled salmon with breathtaking Elliott Bay and Seattle skyline views from waterfront tables. Damoori Kitchen prepares traditional Lebanese dishes including beef kafta pita arous with herb-flecked beef, pickled turnips, tahini, tomato, and radish blocks from Discovery Park. Mura Asian Eatery serves homestyle Korean and Japanese dishes including chicken karaage, beef bulgogi, katsu, spicy tofu stew, yakisoba, and fried rice. Pink Salt specializes in Peruvian fare including ceviche, Cordero lamb shank roasted with vegetables and herbs, and pan y chicharron slow-roasted pork belly on homemade bread. Mondello offers Italian and Mediterranean cuisine featuring homemade gnocchi, paper-thin pizza, and prosciutto-wrapped veal.
