The wood-fired oven at 4235 E Madison St went cold on Friday, October 16. That was The Independent Pizzeria's last day of service. It had been on that corner since 2010. Down at the water, the 1919 bathhouse at Madison Park Beach is quiet for the off-season. Its next chapter is already being drawn by an architecture team that will show its work to the neighborhood on Tuesday, November 10.
These are two very different places, a family pizzeria and a city-owned beach building, and they are going through the same kind of handoff. The people choosing what comes next are the outgoing owners in one case and a volunteer neighborhood group in the other, not a city planning process. Both get their public moment in early November, about ten days apart.
The Handoff at 4235 E Madison
Owners Tom Siegel and Tora B. Hennessey are retiring, and that is why the pizzeria closed. The original last day was set for Saturday, October 18. As WhatNow Seattle reported, the owners then moved it up by two days, saying, "We need a few extra days to pack this lil restaurant up."
The owners are lining up the next tenant themselves. WhatNow Seattle quoted their social media post:
"In the meantime, we're working on handing the space to a new owner we're very excited about. We think they'll be a beautiful addition to this community, and we'll share more when it's final."
The Independent Pizzeria's website says more details will come on Instagram on November 1. That's this Sunday. No one has named the next restaurant yet. What we do know is that the people who ran this corner for sixteen years picked who gets it next, and they describe that choice as one made with the neighborhood in mind.
The Bathhouse Has Changed Jobs Before
The bathhouse redesign is a bigger handoff, and it's easier to follow once you see how often the building has already been reworked. Seattle's historic-site inventory traces its history like this:
| Period | What happened to the building |
|---|---|
| 1919 | Original bathhouse built |
| Through 1938 | Enlarged in phases into the wood-frame Colonial Revival building that stands today |
| Mid-1980s | Remodeled for flexible community-center use |
| Spring and summer 2024 | Friends of Madison Park surveys more than 500 park users |
| March 2025 | Planning partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Parks Foundation, and two design firms reported |
| November 10, 2026 | Architects present to the neighborhood at the bathhouse |
So the building has already gone from summer changing room to a larger lakeside building to a community space. The next version is being led by Friends of Madison Park, working with the city. Signal Architecture + Research is designing the bathhouse, and Anchor QEA is the landscape architecture firm on the shoreline work.
The Madison Park Times reported in March 2025 that this group was just starting to explore options. A year and a half later, the architects are bringing their work back to the people who filled out that survey.
What's on the Table for November 10
The city's description of the site today is short. Madison Park has a lifeguarded summer swimming beach, a bathhouse with restrooms, about 400 feet of beach, and a lawn with steps down to the water. The project page from Friends of Madison Park describes a building that would work year-round instead of mainly in summer. Its goals include:
- Keeping the bathhouse's historic character while adding flexible space for indoor meetings, public gatherings, and exercise classes
- Keeping the preschool that uses the building now
- Upgrading the restrooms and the spaces for lake access, swimming, lifeguard equipment, and small-craft storage
- Looking into kayak and paddleboard offerings at the beach
- Repairing shoreline erosion, removing invasive plants, and supporting wildlife, including migrating salmon
- Barrier-free, ADA-compliant access to the waterfront, plus safer street crossings
Those are goals, not approved plans, and the group says every idea still depends on feasibility and design work.
The meeting runs Tuesday, November 10, 7 to 8 p.m., at the bathhouse. It was first set for October 13 and was postponed over scheduling. The event listing says the architects will present "brand new schematic designs." The October 12 newsletter calls it a progress update, and the agenda also covers holiday events and plans for 2026 and 2027. The schematic drawings were first put on display at Party for the Park on October 24, according to the group's events page. November 10 is the first open neighborhood meeting where the architects themselves walk through the designs and take questions.
Who Pays for the Drawing Board
Because Friends of Madison Park is leading the project and not the city, neighborhood fundraising matters to it. The group's yearly Party for the Park was held at Broadmoor Golf Club on Saturday, October 24, with live and silent auctions. Last year's party raised $140,000. In a 2025 newsletter, Friends of Madison Park said the money would go to community activities and to "next steps" toward the bathhouse and shoreline design. It did not earmark the whole amount for the project.
That link is the clearest way to see how the bathhouse handoff works. Halloween on the business district, the auction paddles at Broadmoor, and the architects' fees on the beach project all run through the same volunteer group.
The Calendar Between Now and the Reveals
The calendar from Halloween through mid-November runs right through both announcements, and nearly everything on the calendar comes from the same group planning the bathhouse.
- Saturday, October 31, 4 to 7 p.m. Trick or Treat in Madison Park fills the business district, with shops handing out candy. The Costumed Pup Parade meets by the tennis courts at 4 p.m. The Madison Park Preschool Co-op runs a photo booth in Triangle Park, and a live DJ plays. One line on the event page says "Friday," but October 31 falls on a Saturday this year, and the listing's own date header agrees.
- Sunday, November 1. The Independent Pizzeria plans to share news about the next tenant at 4235 E Madison St on Instagram.
- Thursday, November 5, from 1 p.m. Martha E. Harris Flowers & Gifts holds its holiday open house. The listing gives two closing times, so arrive early in the afternoon.
- Saturday, November 7. Friends of Madison Park and Parkshore host a Little Beats children's concert. The series has moved to the multipurpose space at McGilvra Elementary.
- Tuesday, November 10, 7 p.m. The bathhouse architects present at the bathhouse.
- Saturday, November 14. The fall cleanup covers the business district, the park, and nearby streets. Check in by the Bank of America parking lot.
By the cleanup on November 14, the neighborhood should know who is taking over the pizzeria corner and should have heard the bathhouse architects present their schematic designs in person.
Changes like a new tenant at 4235 E Madison St or a year-round bathhouse at the beach can shape how a block feels long before they show up in any listing. If you want to talk about what this fall's changes could mean for your home and your street, Strong Properties is here for that conversation. Work with Portia.
