The Historic Pacific Highway
in Washington
Tacoma to Seattle
The Historic Pacific Highway
in Washington
Tacoma to Seattle
Tacoma in 1940 had a population of 109,498 people, and before they were forced onto the reservation in the 1870's, it was the home of the Puyallup tribe. The City of Tacoma lies along the protected waters of Puget Sound and Commencement Bay into which the Puyallup River drains. Tacoma is about midway between Seattle to the north and Olympia to the southwest. Commencement Bay, a fine natural harbor on the Sound, is recognized as one of the country 's leading ports.
Indian Ferry - Stuck Valley Road
In the mid 1860's a ferry began operations across the Puyallup river just east of the Old Puyallup Indian cemetery where E. Grandview Ave. meets E. Bay Street. Back then 20th Street East was the main road across the bottom and had originally extended west to the river bank. It was known as Indian ferry and was operated by members of the Puyallup tribe. In 1879 a road was located from Indian ferry to the Stuck valley. This road would become the Pacific Highway in 1913.
On January 8, 1927, the Washington Automobile Association held a dedication ceremony for the newly completed Puyallup River Bridge. This bridge and the Marysville Bridge were the final 2 gaps in the highway that were filled to make the Pacific Highway a truly modern continuous highway from Mexico to the Canadian border.
Poodle Dog Restaurant / Century Ballroom
If you were driving down the Pacific Highway through Tacoma back in the 1940s, one of the places you'd be sure to spot was The Poodle Dog Restaurant in Fife. It's still there, sporting its pink-and-white neon poodle out front. With the Century Ballroom just north of the restaurant, it was a happening place in its day. The bar is known as the "Pup Room" and the place still serves your typical American style food while giving the visitor a big dose of old style ambience.
Traveling north on the Pacific Highway in 1915, after crossing over the Puyallup River, the motorist turned right onto what is now known as 54th Ave East. The highway continued south for a quarter mile to the railroad tracks and then it veered to the left onto what is now known as Valley Avenue. The highway continued on Valley Avenue for the next 6 miles and traveling in a southeast direction to Sumner. Today The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse is at the east end of this road.
The automobile enabled people to travel cheaply, and the new "auto tourist" could "see" the country far from their homes. Many towns and cities quickly recognized the business potential of these new tourists, and began to cater to this welcome invasion of their sleepy little towns. Many municipalities would set aside some vacant land and allowed these auto tourists to park their cars and set up a tent for the night at no charge. This made overnight travel almost as cheap as if you just took an afternoon drive, and many began to see places they've never seen before.
The West Valley Highway is a section of the original Pacific Highway which began in Sumner and traveled 9.5 miles north along the west side of the Kent/Auburn Valley to 37th Street NW. From there, the road continues northward in the center of the valley for another 9.5 miles to Renton Junction near Tukwila.
The Highline Road was an alternate route between Tacoma and Seattle between 1916 and 1924. In the beginning many thought the "Highline" was more important than the Pacific Highway, which was in the valley a few miles to the east. Well they were right and between 1924 and 1927 the road became a section of the Pacific Highway. The Highline Road was the shortest distance between Seattle and Tacoma, and for a time it was one of the most heavily traveled roads between Tacoma and Seattle.
In the summer of 1901, James Clark petitioned for a county road to be built from Allentown, across the Duwamish River and continue south to Renton Junction, where it would connect with County Road #8 also known as the White River Road which ran south to Kent. His petition would be granted and the road was designated as County Road #622 or the James Clark Road. The 3.22 mile road was completed by March of 1902.
The first wagon roads south of Seattle followed the trails made by the Duwamish and Muckleshoot people. The first one was not so much a road but more of a pack trail and was called the Ridge Road. This trail ran over Beacon Hill and continued along the ridge to Skyway. This and the Indian trail from "Elliott bay to the mouth of the Cedar river." This trail had evolved into a wagon road by the 1870's. It began in downtown Seattle and traveled south up what is now Beacon Ave. S., and roughly followed it to Myrtle Street. From there the road followed Myrtle Pl. down the hill where it turned to the south and connected to Renton Ave, and roughly followed it to Renton. By 1880 this road was impassable.
In 1913 the Pacific Highway between Tacoma and Seattle was routed through the Kent/Auburn valley which had 4 river crossings. The first was over the Puyallup river at Indian Ferry, the next crossing was over the Green river in Kent, the third crossing was again over the Green river at Renton Junction in Tukwila, and the last crossing was over the Duwamish river at Allentown. This section of the highway had 4 dangerous railroad crossings, and one deadly trolley crossing at Allentown. The one good point of the road was that it was paved the entire distance between Tacoma and Seattle.
The Old Boeing Airplane Factory
Boeing Plant #1 which is known as "The Red Barn" was the second Boeing airplane production facility, home of the Boeing Corporation between 1917 and 1929. Boeing Plant #1 was responsible for the assembly and production of the early Boeing airplane models produced until the completion of Boeing Plant #2 in 1936..
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