The Denny Party landed at Alki Point November 13, 1851 and platted a settlement of six blocks of eight lots. The original name of the settlement was "New York Alki," from a word in Chinook Jargon meaning "eventually." However, the next April, Arthur A. Denny abandoned the site at Alki for a better-situated site on the east shore of Elliott Bay, just north of the plat of David Swinson "Doc" Maynard.
Charlie Terry and others held on at Alki for awhile, but most eventually joined the others on the site of what is now Downtown Seattle. Well into the 20th Century, Alki was reachable from most of Seattle only by boat.
The oldest remaining building in Alki is the 1904 Bernard family home, later a hotel, and now the Alki Homestead restaurant. The Alki Point Lighthouse dates from 1913, replacing an earlier post light from 1887.
Alki today is reminiscent of a California beach town, with a mix of mid-century bungalows, medium-rise waterfront apartment houses, waterfront businesses, a thin beach, and a road with a bike/foot trail running several miles along the water.
See also History of Seattle before 1900.