| Shoreline:
A New City with an Old History
Having been incorporated into King County in only 1995,
the city of Shoreline is relatively new. However, the
region itself can hardly be described as young. The
history of this 11.74 square mile plot of land just
north of Seattle stretches back considerably farther
than the 1990's.
The area's earliest residents were the Native American
groups that traveled along the edges of the Puget Sound
to gather sword fern and ingredients for kinnikinic,
a preparation of leaves and bark used by the Northwest
natives. These groups also developed areas in the highlands
by setting controlled fires, which created open meadows
conducive to plant cultivation as well as being inviting
to small game for hunting.
The texture of the land was to change even further
when, in 1890, the Great Northern Railroad first passed
through. A station was founded in Richmond Beach, and
settlements quickly grew around it. In 1906 the outcrop
was spurred onward by the creation of the Interurban
Rail Line. The Interurban stretched north to south,
linking Seattle and Everett, and stopped in Shoreline
along what is now Aurora Ave at 175th and 185th streets.
The areas surrounding these stops were soon booming
with commerce, and with the bricking of the North Trunk
Road in 1913, the path to development was plowed even
wider.
The early 1900's witnessed an explosion of growth
in Shoreline. With roads, trains, and busses (1914)
linking them to the amenities of the city, people flocked
to the region for the same reasons that people do now:
more space and less stress. Along with its commercial
businesses, Shoreline also boasted two elementary schools
and the Seattle & Highlands Golf Club.
The area surged with vitality, and growth could only
be curbed by the Great Depression and World War II,
which weighed down the entire nation. In the late 1930's,
the only new businesses in Shoreline were, by in large,
car based ventures that sprouted up along Aurora Ave.
These businesses were spurred by the closing of the
Interurban line, with the change making this section
of US Highway 99 the main route for north south travel
in the region.
The second World War's only real growth was in the
form a massive Naval hospital that, at its peak, hosted
some 2000 patients and 600 staff members. However, once
the war was over life once again renewed the region;
young men and their family's, now armed with GI Bills
and high ambitions, swarmed the area to build their
new lives. This period of growth witnessed massive new
housing developments and the unification of the region
as a vital community. Development was no longer limited
to the areas immediately surrounding highways and rail
lines-it was everywhere.
The post WWII period not only saw the creation of massive
housing developments such as Ridgecrest, but it also
marked the actual christening of the region as Shoreline.
The name, thought up by a student, was appointed to
describe a school district which spanned from the shores
of the Puget Sound in the west to the shores of Lake
Washington in the east. The name stuck, and the community
prospered.
In the 1960's Shoreline was gifted its community college.
The college not only serves as a gateway to all of Washington
State's prestigious universities, but also features
well renowned dental and automotive programs, among
its many other excellent technical curriculums. Bordering
the school is the picturesque Boeing Creek Park, nurturing
towering patches of old growth forest and jaw-dropping
views of the sound. The park was named after its previous
owner William Boeing, who had used the land as a hunting
retreat.
Finally, in 1995 the region voted to incorporate Shoreline
as a city unto its own. Citizens felt this action was
the best way to protect their schools from being annexed
into the neighboring Seattle school district as well
as boosting their civic services. The city's plan succeeded.
Today Shoreline is a thriving community of 53,000 residents.
Shoreline's 2002 budget was $48.3 million, and it has
been ranked as the 12th largest city in Washington State.
Although it has only technically been a city for barely
a decade, this proud and distinct community can look
on a history that stretches back to the Native Americans
that originally settled all of this wonderful state
of Washington.
~Information for this article was provided in part by
the Shoreline Municipal website.
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