Altering Terrain
This week marks two anniversaries in the transformation of land both in and around Seattle. The first took place on August 31, 1909, when work began on the Dearborn Street regrade, which would eventually remove a steep hill located between downtown and the Rainier Valley. It was the city's third-largest regrade project, exceeded only by the series of five Denny Hill regrades and the Jackson Street regrade.
Seven years later another change came to the city's topography that was more far-reaching. On August 28, 1916, Lake Washington began to drop by 8.8 feet when the Montlake Cut was completed as part of the construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which had begun in 1909. As the lake's level reached that of Lake Union the change had dramatic effects throughout King County.
At the south end of Lake Washington, the Black River – the lake's original outlet into the Duwamish River valley – disappeared, which helped reduce flooding in the valley. Meanwhile, the closing of the locks on the eastern end of the ship canal caused water levels to rise in Salmon Bay, home of the Fisherman's Terminal, as salt water was kept, as much as possible, from draining into Lake Union.
Communities around Lake Washington gained shorefront, but most of it was at first wet goo. On the Seattle side of the lake, where Montlake Boulevard ran, a few extra feet of land now extended from the roadway, and much if it is now used as open space. On the other side of the lake, a sandy beach was exposed in Juanita Bay, which became a popular resort, and later a park. In Bellevue, once the canal provided a connection to Puget Sound, the American Pacific Whaling Fleet chose Meydenbauer Bay as its freshwater home port. And in Renton, acres of exposed shorefront would years later become home to one of Boeing's manufacturing plants, as well as an airport.
Residential Gain
Four King County cities share a birthday on August 31 this week. On that day in 1995 Shoreline incorporated. Homesteaded in the 1890s, the community grew slowly over the years until the completion of Interstate 5. Increased growth led its residents to seek autonomy, and it is now one of the largest cities in Washington with no central business district
In South King County, Covington incorporated on August 31, 1997. It too began in the 1890s, as a small stop on the railroad from Kanasket to Auburn. Lumber and farming boosted the town's early economy, but after nearby communities like Kent and Auburn swelled due to post-war suburbanization, Covington residents looked to incorporation as a way to control their own town's growth.
On August 31, 1998, Kenmore incorporated on the northern tip of Lake Washington. Named by shingle-mill owner John McMaster in 1901 after his earlier home in Kenmore, Ontario (which was in turn named for the town of Kenmore, Scotland), this community also sought incorporation as a way to control suburban growth. The same can be said for Sammamish, which incorporated on August 31, 1999, after an unsuccessful attempt to annex to Issaquah.
