There were lots of excited faces back in August, 1947 at the then-new Kirkland City Hall’s dedication. This building stood on Main Street at Central Avenue and even boasted a sewage treatment plant behind it. Over time, Kirkland grew from about five thousand residents in the late 1940s to about 19,000 in 1980 and the […]
In August, 1946, over 6000 visitors, several times Kirkland’s population then, swarmed into town to watch the much-publicized high point of Kirkland’s first Water Festival: The pig swimming races. BANG! The starting pistol fired and beautiful bikini-clad young women–UW drama students–opened the gates and 18 pigs slid down chutes, splashing into the lake and took to their lanes, made from floating boards, […]
A hearty “Thank You!” to the Rotary Club of Kirkland for its nearly-completed Cross Kirkland Corridor pavilion (CKC) project – an undertaking nearly four years in the making. As of December 2020, the new pavilion stands on the east side of the CKC on Railroad Avenue, immediately south of Kirkland Way. Working with the City […]
In the February 2021 issue of Kirkland Lifestyle magazine I recounted the many works of Eastside commercial art created by Kenton Pies in Kenton Pies’ Eastside Art, including Totem Lake Mall and the Kingsgate neighborhood. My friend and colleague Jana Robertson and I met Mr. Pies in 2013, when he was working on the new […]
In the October 2020 issue of Kirkland Lifestyle magazine I highlighted the history of a few of Kirkland’s well-known eateries of the past in a feature called Did You Take Your Flame To Frosty’s? to coincide with a food and beverage theme for the magazine. As I reflected in the article, “The restaurant business has […]
Back in late February (2020) I saw an eBay listing for Kirkland Summer Festival programs from 1946 and 1947. The starting bid was only $25 and I was the only bidder. So I won, obviously. When they arrived I opened the package but I did not spend my time actually studying them—I just gave them […]
In the August 2020 issue of Kirkland Lifestyle magazine I presented some glimpses of Man’s Best Friend in Kirkland over the years. Dogs have been near and dear to my heart all of my life and dog care has been my vocation for several years via Sarah’s Pet Care. The variety of photos from very early on […]
In the July 2020 issue of Kirkland Lifestyle magazine I described the rich History of Juanita Beach. As I said at the beginning of the article, “Juanita Beach is likely the most historic property owned by the City of Kirkland, yet one might never realize that. Today it has a vastly different feel and look […]
In the April 2020 issue of Kirkland Lifestyle magazine I gave a well-deserved tribute to Al Locke, the first City Manager of Kirkland. The article draws heavily on a lengthy, very candid interview with Mr. Locke and with Richard “Dick” Shinstrom, a former city council member and insurance broker that I conducted in September, 2011. […]
In the February 2020 issue of Kirkland Lifestyle magazine I told the story of lake transportation before the floating bridges. Writing in 1934, R. H. Collins, Kirkland’s first mayor, said of the early days, “Separated from Seattle as we are by Lake Washington, transportation has always been a vital problem in the development of this […]
