Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Kenmore, WA

Kenmore is a city in King County on the northernmost shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Sammamish River about 12 miles northeast of downtown Seattle.

The city's Lushootseed name, ƛ̕ax̌ʷadis (Tl'awahdees), recalls the Sammamish village that stood near the mouth of the Sammamish River before its people were removed in 1856.

Scotsman John McMasters opened a shingle mill on the lakeshore on January 1, 1901, and named his company town after his earlier home of Kenmore, Ontario, which itself was named for the village of Kenmore in Scotland.

During Prohibition, Kenmore became famous across the Seattle area for its roadhouses and speakeasies — including the Blind Pig on the lakeshore and the Inglewood Tavern, nicknamed the "Bucket of Blood" for its routine fistfights — with more than 30 restaurants, dance halls, and clubs packed into a three-block area.

Incorporation votes failed repeatedly over the decades, starting in 1954, before Kenmore finally became a city on August 31, 1998 — 97 years after its founding.

The 2020 census counted 23,914 people in 9,270 households in Kenmore.

Kenmore Air Harbor, near the old Blind Pig site at the river's mouth, is the largest seaplane-only passenger facility of its kind in the United States, and Kenmore Air's floatplanes serve destinations throughout the Puget Sound region and Cascadia.

Bastyr University, a private university founded in 1978 and specializing in naturopathic and natural health sciences, moved to Kenmore in 1996 onto the grounds of the former St. Edward Seminary, becoming the city's first college.

Saint Edward State Park, the largest park in Kenmore at 365 acres, preserves over half a mile of undeveloped Lake Washington shoreline and the historic seminary building, built in 1931 and now operated as a hotel.

Log Boom Park, also called Tracy Owen Station, gives Kenmore 16 acres of Lake Washington shoreline with a long walking dock, and the Burke-Gilman Trail runs through the city along the lakeshore.