All about the West Seattle neighborhood around Beach Drive
Sirens screamed down Beach Drive in the wee hours this morning to the call of a fire in a home at 4800 Beach Drive.
Scupper was on the scene and learned that the fire was put out by quick thinking and a garden house before the fire trucks arrived. You can still smell smoke in the air.
Thank goodness nobody was hurt. Back to bed!
While 2013 featured only one Beach Drive home (and a lighthouse) turning 100, this year needs enough candles for a half-dozen! Check ’em out…
This Lowman Beach Cottage remembers when Lincoln Park was named Fauntleroy Park prior to 1922.
One of my favs to be sure on the 5000 block.
An extensive remodel in 2009 but the bones are unmistakably 1914. Being nestled right up against Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook, I’m pretty certain it witnessed some pretty swank Schmitz parties!
This gem is so well hidden these days, I had to use a county photo from 2003.
This most northern 100 yo on Beach Drive may have a 1914 sports page in the attic featuring the Boston Braves sweep of the Philadelphia A’s, 1st sweep in World Series history.
Think it knows it was built the same year as the Smith Tower??
This is one of those beauties that sits down from the street south of where the Peavey Saw Mill used to reside on Alki Ave. (now named Beach Drive).
*A majority of these photos were lifted off the King County Dept of Assessments site.
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
Making headlines for the second straight day on BDB, folks on the 5000 block of Beach Drive woke up to the un-named/registered 26 foot sailing vessel anchored out in front of their views.
You ask how you could be so blessed to have this blue tarped boat swaying near your buoys?? Seems it was towed there by what looked like the Seattle Harbor Patrol! We first noticed the sailboat several days ago anchored out front of Weather Watch Park but recently noticed it was leap frogging south about a hundred yards or so during every flood tide. Here’s how it unfolded yesterday…
1:00 PM – The head honcho of BDB makes a call to the Coast Guard to alert them of an unsecured vessel. They pass her onto Seattle Harbor Patrol which in turn passes the buck to King County which in turn tells her to contact the Coast Guard… well, see a pattern here? Nobody wants responsibility to tow or secure the boat.
6:15 PM – The 26′ “Hot Potato” floats off it’s anchor heading out towards the shipping channel
8:00 PM – Near miss! A container ship heading north almost sends Hot Potato down to Davy Jone’s locker for good.
Approx 9:15 PM – A patrol boat with blue lights flashing is seen towing said vessel southward towards which we thought might be Des Moines or Tacoma.
Some good news for our Beach Drive neighbors is that 2 notices have been neatly taped to the aft cabin of Hot Potato. One of which reads Notice of Intent to Obtain Custody. It’s one of the first steps in disposing derelict vessels in an environmentally responsible way and, not to mention, allows time for the rightful owner to step forward.
(b) Before taking temporary possession of the vessel, the authorized public entity must make reasonable attempts to consult with the department or the United States coast guard to ensure that other remedies are not available. The basis for taking temporary possession of the vessel must be set out in writing by the authorized public entity within seven days of taking action and be submitted to the owner, if known, as soon thereafter as is reasonable. If the authorized public entity has not already provided the required notice, immediately after taking possession of the vessel, the authorized public entity must initiate the notice provisions in subsection (1) of this section. The authorized public entity must complete the notice requirements of subsection (1) of this section before using or disposing of the vessel as authorized in RCW 79.100.050.
In other news, wouldn’t you think they could find a more visible location for this sign?
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
This garage sale is NOT TO MISS! The owner’s are really nice folks but… really have no idea how highly valuable their loot is. Rumor has it that they’re unloading priceless paintings for only a couple of bucks. This is just one of many items that have spent years collecting dust in their daughter’s closet…
Other items include several jewels of the Queen said to be still lingering under the cushion of this plush throne…
Hope to see all you treasure hunters bright and early this Saturday & possibly Sunday starting at 9:00 AM…and to receive the super “whamo deal”, make sure you tell them Scupper sent you!!!
PS: If you have a garage or yard sale around Beach Drive that you’d like to promote – drop us a line!
Scupper, schlepping for Beach Drive Blog
The super fine folks at the the Southwest Seattle Historical Society dug up another vintage photo for us to enjoy…
The caption read: “Beach area below Jacobsen Dr on the left approximate location of Emma Schmitz and the houses on what was the orginal orchard area (of the Schmitz estate).”
I lined up the houses and vacant lots in the photo to put the circa between 1921-25. It appears that the old seawall was quite a bit higher and set back further than the current seawall constructed in 1927. The one remaining mystery of this historic photo is the house(s) to the far north/left. Are they the houses at the north end of the park or were homes at one time built on the wider strip of land of the park? I’m thinking the cameras were just that much better in the 20’s 🙂
The above photo was taken yesterday at low tide. The kids were splashing around where the old sewer/run-off structure is now. If you’re thinking the water must’ve been freezing and it must’ve been some sort of a double-dog-dare, think again! I measured the water temp in the shallows to be around 75 degrees…no fool’n!!
As far as the “original orchard” is concerned, a life long resident in the area told me that this is likely the last remaining fruit tree still standing from the original Schmitz family estate (now Mee-Kwa-Mooks park)…
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
Construction for placing a permanent diesel generator at SPU Pump Station #39 is well under way. It’s the last of 9 pump sites recently granted a permanent solution for keeping the sewage flowing during a power outage. Several other sites around the city require portable generators to be hauled in during outages.
This project required a City Council vote early this year to approve the proposed “shallow” set-back from the sidewalk. The proposed location of the generator is actually a compromise helped along by effected neighbors that didn’t want the generator located further up the hill. Their first choice, along with others along the drive would be to have the entire project located underground. This would cost approx 3 times as much as the proposed so it appears a fair compromise was worked out. Other compromises worked out by our local neighbors include an eight foot wood fence rather than the standard 6′ chain-link and that the generator is only run/tested once every month for 30 minutes rather than the weekly noise which is standard elsewhere.
Rumor has it, some neighbors were actively working on making this one of Seattle’s new “pocket parks“.
The station was originally installed in 1959 and is located on city of Seattle property.
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
Caught up with the Hawaiian Chieftain square rigger on it’s way from Port Orchard to Kirkland where she’ll be fixing her canons on the Lady Washington! Carillon Point Marina will host the two traditional sailing vessels for mock battles and ship tours thru Sept 2nd.
And here is our pic of the week taken by Ron Sterling across the street from Lowman Beach. The controversial Murray CSO Control Facility is in full swing…
Say goodbye to this 1926 duplex and the other long-standing houses along the strip.
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
The long awaited construction project is finally underway along one of the the most historically unstable sections of Beach Drive SW. This notorious slide area has been riddled with controversy before finally being approved for city permitting. Two 12 foot retaining walls with a drainage plan will most likely take several weeks to complete.
An on-looking neighbor commented that this plucked tree was “mainly responsible for holding up the hillside”
The good news is that this potholed and sloped section of Beach Drive will eventually get re-paved! Also appears that an owner located directly below the construction project now has the confidence to plan a new 8071 square foot home…
Question is, will this modern answer to holding back the hillside actually stand the test of time? Here’s some historic photos to contend with…
Photo takenOctober 21st 1933 (courtesy of city of Seattle archived photos)
Atlas slide photo taken 1/24/1934 (courtesy of City of Seattle Archives)
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
Two Beach Drive beauties are turning over the century this year. According to King County Records, this gal was born in 1913…
Sweetheart, you haven’t changed a bit!
Not sure of the year but check out the ride out front!
The next centurion is actually a remodel that was finished up in 1913 replacing a lens-lantern atop a wooden post. This is an excerpt from Lighthouse Friends .Com
After the government purchased an octagonal parcel at the tip of the point from Edmund Hansen for a sum of $9,999. the present concrete fog signal building with attached, thirty-seven foot octagonal tower was completed on April 29th, 1913, and the station was activated a few weeks later on June 1.
Photo courtesy of University of Washington archives
Circa 1959 from Washington State Digital Archives
Here’s a few pics of the beacon taken earlier today from the S.S. Scupper. Notice the blue tent out front of the Coast Guard residence. They’re preparing for grand birthday party tomorrow to commemorate the 100 year anniversary. The Log House Museum is also hosting a shin-dig from noon to 4!
Weather is predicted for the high 60’s tomorrow.
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
Was your home still a vacant lot in 1937? You can search King County Map Vault by Section Township Range to see how your lot appeared “back in the day”. Use this reference photo to locate your particular map section…
Jacobson Rd is located in Section 22. Lowman Cove is shared in both 27 & 26
Here’s an example of how present day Mee-Kwa-Mooks Park appeared back when it was occupied by West Seattle pioneers Ferdinand & Emma Schmitz…
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
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