Boeing Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Washington, located in the city of Shoreline, just north of Seattle. It is about long and empties into Puget Sound. The creek is heavily modified along its course, and in many places has been diverted into culverts. The watershed of Boeing Creek is about in size, with two main tributaries aside from the mainstem. The creek takes its name from William Boeing, who built a mansion along the creek in 1913. Despite the river modifications and stormwater pollution, the creek supports a variety of riparian habitats, native animals and fishes.
Course
Boeing Creek's original headwaters have been placed into underground pipes. The creek's main stem emerges from storm drain culverts at the intersection of Greenwood Ave and Carlyle Hall Road, which is considered its source, . The creek flows along the Shoreline Community College campus, through Boeing Creek Park (the northern part of Shoreview Park). At the west end of the park the creek empties into Hidden Lake, . Boeing Creek exits Hidden Lake through a culvert under Innis Arden Way and flows west through a ravine and under BNSF's railroad tracks before emptying into Puget Sound.
There are two main tributary forks of Boeing Creek. The northern fork emerges from a culvert in Boeing Creek Park. Its water comes from drainage pipes beneath 6th Avenue. This fork joins the main stem in Boeing Creek Park. Another tributary fork rises in the neighborhoods of Shoreview Hills and The Highlands and flows north to join Boeing Creek below Hidden Lake.
The lowermost portion of Boeing Creek flows between the neighborhoods of The Highlands and Innis Arden. The Highlands is an exclusive gated community designed by the Olmsted Brothers in 1909. This portion of the creek is not accessible to the public.
During high flow events, additional water from pipes beneath 175th Street enters Boeing Creek Park, flowing into a stormwater detention basin, then into the northern fork of Boeing Creek.
Discharge
King County operated six stream gages on Boeing Creek during the 1990s. Gage 04j, called "Boeing Creek off Beach DR", was the farthest downstream at approximately river mile 0.4. It operated from August 7, 1991, to March 19, 1993. The maximum daily discharge measured was . The minimum daily discharge was 1.06. The mean discharge over the life of the gage was .
Watershed
According to Rich Ellison, Boeing Creek's watershed is large and includes of Puget Sound shoreline. The watershed is almost entirely within the city of Shoreline, reaching north nearly to the Snohomish County line. Its southern extent reaches slightly into the city of Seattle. Boeing Creek's watershed borders, to the west, the watersheds of McAleer Creek, Thornton Creek, and Lyons Creek. King County maps Boeing Creek's watershed slightly differently. According to King County the watershed is completely contained within the City of Shoreline.
History
In 1913 William Boeing, founder of the Boeing company, had a mansion built in The Highlands neighborhood, along Boeing Creek. He lived by himself until 1921, when he married and started a family. In time the creek came to be named after Boeing. Earlier names included Hidden Creek and Hidden Lake Creek. The senior water rights on the stream, those of William Boeing and the Seattle Golf and Country Club, call it "unnamed stream". The official USGS name, Boeing Creek, was entered into the GNIS database on September 10, 1979. Boeing owned much of the lower creek, including today's Shoreview and Boeing Creek Parks. He used the land primarily as a hunting retreat and had a small dam made, creating Hidden Lake which he used as a private fishing pond. In the 1930s Boeing platted and logged north of Boeing Creek and sold the land to developers. The Innis Arden neighborhood began to be developed on this land after World War II. The land that today is Boeing Creek Park was partially logged, leaving a number of large mature conifers, some over tall. It is unclear why the area was only partially logged. The steep slopes may have made it too costly to fully log.