Wallingford Community Spaces
Looking for a space for your group to meet? Wallingford doesn’t have a formal “community center”, but we do have several spots community groups can use to gather. Click a name below for more information, and please let us know if we’re missing one.
The Wallingford Boys and Girls Club have a gym for rent (middle school regulation size; renters have access to whatever we have in our ball closet), as well as a gamesroom (pool, ping pong, foosball, bumper pool equipment provided), and several upstairs spaces that can be rented individually or as a unit. Renters who rent the upstairs are also welcome to use our tables and chairs, as long as they put them back where they started. The kitchen can also be rented for a small hourly fee. The teen center and computer lab cannot be rented. With all of our different spaces, we can accommodate virtually any size group. Additionally, we offer special rates for birthday parties where the whole Club can be used. E-mail Meghan Sweet for more information.
A basement general purpose room with a capacity of about 80 is available to rent to non-profit organizations. 2102 N 40th St, (206) 632-2662. More info at www.giftofgrace.org.
The Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside N) was built in 1907 as a residential home for delinquent and troubled young women and was operated by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. When it was closed in the early 1970’s it was acquired by the City of Seattle and the building turned over to Historic Seattle. The west half of the grounds became the Meridian Playfield. Historic Seattle converted the building into office space for non-profit organizations and a limited number of artists’ lofts. Most of the organizations in the Center have a larger focus than the neighborhood, but the neighborhood does benefit from having their courses and activities near at hand. Concerts, mostly of avant garde music, are offered in the former chapel with a capacity of about 100, which can also be available to non-profit organizations when not scheduled for music events. Meridian School, Seattle Tilth and the Wallingford Community Senior Center are also located in the Good Shepherd Center.
The Center has a meeting room with a capacity of about 50 and two small conference rooms that can seat about 20 that are available for rent to non-profit organizations. Contact (206) 547-8127 for more information. In addition, the Wallingford Community Senior Center, located on the bottom floor, has a meeting/general purpose room, capacity 60, which is available for rent to non-profit organizations. (206) 461-7825.
Nalanda West is a center for the study of Buddhism. A conference center with a capacity of 180 and a dining/general purpose room seating 80 are available to rent to non-profit organizations. 3902 Woodland Pk N, (206) 529-8258. More info at www.nalandawest.org.The space is comprised of two attached rooms, the small room holding groups up to about 10 and the large room holding groups up to about 20-25. Note that the two rooms are adjoining and are not available for separate rental. There is a small kitchen (with microwave, tea pot, coffee pot, and refrigerator) and a single bathroom with a large utility sink that is perfect for art classes. The studio floors are painted concrete with a moveable area rug.
For more info contact Katie Talbott at (206) 335-5677.
Community Nights in the Schools is a joint program of the school district and the Parks department. They have arranged for community groups (with some restrictions) to rent classroom or lunchroom space in neighborhood public schools for public meetings on weekday evenings for a nominal fee ($15) during the school year. In Wallingford, Stanford International School and the Hamilton School are available through this program.
Classrooms, lunchroom, library, auditorium, gymnasium and other rooms in most public schools buildings are available for hourly rental on school days and days when the schools are not in session. In addition to the base rental the community group may need to pay for a custodian and for operation of heating or cooling equipment if desired. Applicants are instructed to contact the school first, then to submit an application to the Parks Department. The application and additional information are available through program web site.
St. Ben’s is supported by and affiliated with the adjacent St. Benedict Church. St Bens makes its auditorium (capacity 350) and cafeteria (capacity 320) available for rent by compatible non-profit organizations. 4811 Wallingford N (206) 633-3375. More info at www.stbens.net.
The Ballroom at Wine World (400 NE 45th) features “4,000 sq. ft. event space is perfect for networking functions, birthday parties, private wine tastings, trade shows, or business meetings. We have a very flexible room that can be separated into a small intimate private room that can host a party from 10-50 comfortably, with flat screen TV’s, leather chairs, and with floor to ceiling windows you have a view of downtown Seattle, Portage Bay, and Mt. Rainier.” [email protected].(Thanks to Mike Ruby for compiling!)