Surrounded on the north, west, and south by Lake Washington with hypnotic sunset views from the east through the Seattle skyline, Medina is one of the most sylvan residential communities in the Northwest Metroplex and one set apart from the whirling world of its frenetic neighbor, Bellevue. It began in 1891, when T.L. Dabney built the first landing in the Town on what later became known as Dabney Point on Lake Washington. Originally named Floridine by Dabney, three prominent local ladies preferred Medeena and persisted in their promotion of it until Dabney grudgingly agreed. Early pioneer, Miller Freeman, organized community support for an independent school district and was the early promoter of the idea of a bridge across Lake Washington. In 1940 that dream materialized and in 1963 a second “floating bridge” spanned the lake and Eastside growth bloomed.

Today, the 900+ acre town of Medina remains a bedroom community for the wealthy, including Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. As measured by adjusted gross income per tax return, it is the wealthiest zip code in Washington State and the second wealthiest in the US. It has no central business core; all consumer business needs must be sought elsewhere, but the city does provide infrastructure and community services.

The children of Medina are served by Bellevue School District which has some of the finest schools in the nation. All four of the public high schools as well as the 6-12 International School are ranked by Newsweek Magazine in the top 1% of American high schools because of their excellent academics and advanced placement test results. The district serves an approximate student population of 16,258. Bellevue Community College, Northwest University and the University of Washington are the foundation of the higher education opportunity in the community.

There are 26.7 acres of park land in 6 separate and distinct locations in Medina including Medina Beach Park, the historic site of the former ferry terminal that connected Medina with Seattle. Local outdoor activities include golf, bicycling, hiking, backpacking, boating, sailing and kayak- ing. Many options exist among Eastside cities including neighborhood concerts, festivals, markets and fairs. For those who enjoy the arts, there is the Bellevue Symphony and Village Theatre or over the lake to Seattle will bring you to world class museums, the Seattle Symphony, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, performance theatre, opera and of course professional sports teams. There are opportunities for a quality spiritual life in one of the many local churches and community volunteer options are plentiful, too.

Typical recent home sales prices range between $2-5 million. Many Medina estates remain within the family being passed from generation to generation.