West Seattle- the oldest and the biggest of Seattle’s neighborhoods- is both a peninsula and a state of mind. The first Euro-American settlers arrived here (on Alki Point) in 1851, but left within a few months, moving to a more agreeable location on the other side of Elliott Bay (the site of present-day downtown Seattle). Orphaned at an early age, isolated by water on three sides, West Seattle has clung to its cultural independence, remaining determinedly aloof even while fighting tenaciously for the bridges, highways, and ferries that have brought it closer to its sprawling neighbor to the east.