Bicycles on the Eastside

Nellie Provine and Minnie Morris with bicycle, 1898 (L 75.0467)

The first bicycle to come to Seattle arrived by boat in 1879 and was displayed at a stationery and book shop in Pioneer Square. It was a child’s bike, purchased by a man named Jules Lipsky for his son. Innovations in the 1880s, like pneumatic tires and chains, made bicycling easier and more enjoyable for men and women. Bicycles were also relatively inexpensive and allowed more flexibility of route than relying on a trolley line. Cycling clubs sprang up around the area and it seemed like the bicycle would have a bright future.

As the automobile became more prevalent, bicycles were quickly pushed aside in the late 1890s, despite Seattle laying about 25 miles of bike paths. For subsequent decades, bikes were considered a pastime for children. By 1940, most bicycles manufactured in the U.S. were for children.

Bicycle repair, 1950 (2016.011.011)

The 1970s saw a boom in bicycling, especially in urban communities. An interest in energy efficient transportation and increased concerns over exercise and health led many Americans to take up cycling as adults. Sales of adult bicycles in the U.S. doubled between 1971 and 1975.

In Washington, cycling clubs were founded and groups lobbied for the Burke-Gilman Trail, the first 12.1 miles of which opened in 1978. The Seattle-to-Portland bike ride was established in 1979.

Redmond Bicycle Derby

The Redmond Bicycle Derby was established in 1939 to celebrate bicycling and promote civic engagement. The origins of the derby are often attributed to bike races conducted between local children, especially those who had paper routes. Ray Adams, Charlie Lentz, Roy Buckley, and others raced on their bicycles around Lake Sammamish. In those days, the eastern shore of the lake did not have paved roads, which made the 25-mile race more challenging.

Bike Derby Queen and King, 1956 (L 87.044.041)

These early, informal races evolved into a community fundraiser with tickets being sold for a chance to guess the winning race time. The person with the closest guess would win $25. Funds generated through ticket sales were used to purchase decorations and flags for downtown, as well as athletic equipment for the local schools. The Derby was so popular, it became an annual event.

World War II brought about rationing of many everyday items like sugar, clothing, and gasoline. Bicycles were also rationed, as the facilities and materials used to make them were reallocated to the war effort. To purchase a new bicycle at this time, a person had to attest to their need. Their trip to work or school had to be more than 3 miles, with public transportations being either unavailable or overcrowded. As a result of this, there was no Bicycle Derby.

After the war, bicycle manufacturing came back to pre-war levels and the Derby returned. In 1952, several local mayors entered the Derby in their own bike race. Bothell, Houghton, Fall City, Kirkland, Bellevue and Redmond all competed, with Redmond Mayor Louie Green coming in first place.

2005 Redmond Bicycle Derby - People on old fashioned bicycles 2016.002.005

Over the next two decades, bicycles shifted from child’s toy to a healthy alternative to driving. In 1968, Seattle initiated Bicycle Sunday, which closed Lake Washington Boulevard to cars for a day. An increase in environmental awareness in the early 1970s encouraged more people to take up cycling.

2023 marks eighty-four years since the first official Bicycle Derby. Now known as Redmond Derby Days, the event encompasses carnival rides, parades, live music, and food and craft vendors. But the central theme remains - the bicycle races. 

Resources:

Eastside Heritage Center Archives

Cycling in Washington State, www.historylink.org/File/20810. Accessed 25 July 2023.

“Derby Days History.” Redmond Historical, www.redmondhistoricalsociety.org/derby-days-archive. Accessed 25 July 2023.

“History of the Bicycle.” Wikipedia, 29 June 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_bicycle.

“History.” Cascade Bicycle Club, cascade.org/about/history. Accessed 25 July 2023.

Knute Berge. September 23, 2013. “How Bikes Led Seattle’s First Roads Renaissance.” Crosscut, 21 July 2023, crosscut.com/2013/09/seattles-first-golden-age-bikes.

Malowney, Georgeann. Images of America, Redmond, Washington. Arcadia, 2002.

Way, Nancy. Our Town, Redmond. Marymoor Museum, 1989.

Anna Clise and the Seattle Children's Hospital

L 88.40.01 - James and Anna Clise, with dog Toby, at Willowmoor.

Anna and James Clise had lost their son, Willis, to juvenile arthritis in 1898. At that time, there were no hospitals in the Seattle area to treat children. In her grief, Anna sought a way to ease the suffering of other mothers and children. After visiting Dr. John Musser at Philadelphia Orthopedic in 1906, Anna was moved to action. In 1907, she organized a group of 23 other wealthy Seattle women to establish a hospital of their own.

Anna was elected the first President of the Board of Trustees of Children’s Orthopedic Hospital Association. They started with a seven bed ward in Seattle General Hospital and had an all-female board. In their first year, the Association was approached by the Dorcas Society about a 14-year-old black girl with tuberculosis of the knee. When asked if they would help her, the Association pledged to accept any child, regardless of race, religion, or the parents’ ability to pay. That year the doctors of the ward treated 13 children and performed 7 operations.

The Clise’s owned the property that is today known as Marymoor Park, in Redmond. There they hosted many lavish parties to help fund this new hospital. Guests were met at the ferry dock with a four-horse tallyho and transported to the 350 acre estate. Anna’s daughter Ruth recalled, “Gaily colored Japanese lanterns holding lighted candles were strung between the trees in the garden and down to the river, where their reflections created a romantic setting. The large rooms of the house and the spacious verandas provided ample room for dancing, the music drifting out over the garden.”

As word spread about the work they were doing, the Association quickly outgrew the ward at Seattle General. In 1908, they opened the “Fresh Air Cottage” on Queen Anne Hill with 12 beds. In 1911, they built an even larger 50-bed hospital next door. The hospital remained there until 1953, when it moved to its current location in the Laurelhurst neighborhood.

By 1917, Anna had lost her eyesight to glaucoma and the couple decided to retire to their property in California. She maintained an interest in the Children’s hospital throughout her remaining years and her daughter and granddaughter served as trustees. Anna died of cancer in 1936.

Anna Clise was included in the Washington State Centennial Hall of Honor in 1989.

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To learn more about the Clise family and their Willowmoor estate, visit our latest online exhibit: Willowmoor.

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Resources

"The Washington State Centennial Hall of Honor." Columbia Magazine. 3.2 (Summer 1989): 36­39. http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/magazine/articles/1989/0289/0289­‐a2.aspx.

Woman's Place: a Guide to Seattle and King County History, by Mildred Tanner Andrews, Gemil Press, 1994, pp. 154–155.

Johnston, Helen, and Richard Johnston. Willowmoor: the Story of Marymoor Park. King County Historical Association, 1976.

Cold War Defense on the Eastside: Redmond, Washington and the Nike Missile Project

Eastside Stories is our way of sharing Eastside history through the many events, people places and interesting bits of information that we collect at the Eastside Heritage Center. We hope you enjoy these stories and share them with friends and family.

After the discovery of the atomic bomb during World War II, Washington state became a major site of nuclear production and defense. From fabricating uranium cores which fuel atomic production to the 12 bases established to protect us from a Russian nuclear attack, Washington is at the heart of the Cold War legacy. Hanford Site produced the uranium cores that were used in the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the summer of 1945. This site in the middle of the state, still houses a large amount of nuclear waste from this time period, although the last reactor was shut down back in 1987.

Here on the Eastside we have a different kind of legacy around the Cold War in our communities. Starting after Russians smuggled plans for the creation of their own bomb from the USA and had their first successful test in 1949, America started thinking about atomic defense. Fear of a nuclear holocaust became a huge concern of the public and perhaps fueled the creation and expansion of the Nike Missile Project. This led to bases in the Kenmore/Bothell area, Issaquah, and Redmond.

Named for the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, this project involved the creation of several high-speed missiles that would be able to stop aircraft and perhaps even warheads still in flight. It also created a need for several strategically placed bases which would be able to launch missiles. One of these bases was built in Redmond. Known as Nike Missile Base S-13 and S-14, the Redmond site consisted of a fire control area located two miles up a hill from the launcher in the valley below. The site was said to be located on 95th off Avondale by locals at the time of operation, but some articles say residents knew little about what went on there during its seventeen years of operation from 1957-1974.

Photo from the Sammamish Valley News shows missiles readying for launch (only a test) at the Redmond facility.

This base was a double launch site which meant it had twice the missiles of similar bases. Although originally run by the US army the base passed into National Guard hands officially in 1958. It was operated during its entire existence on a 24-hour, 365 days a year basis. Still, it seems soldiers stationed there were not overly burdened by the work.

Winning repeatedly in contests of skill around tracking and launching missiles, showing they had time to practice, they also enjoyed a fair amount of recreation. In September 2006 Bill Sunde, who was stationed at the base from 1962-64, recounted to the Redmond Recorder how being stationed at the base was the best unit he’d ever been assigned to. It seems much of the soldier’s time there was spent in leisure as he recollected multiple recreational activities as perks of the job including ping-pong, tennis, basketball, volleyball, speedboats, rowboats, fishing equipment, and water skiing.

After being decommissioned in 1974 the National Guard continued to have a base nearby at the control site on 95th Avenue NE and 172nd. The property, consisting of two sites with a collective acreage of about 40, passed into the hands of the Lake Washington School District. Although there was talk of it becoming a park as early as 1987, for many years the site was dilapidated and covered in graffiti as the base sat and rotted. One report of a visitor during this time said someone had spray painted the words “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here,” the famous inscription over the gates of hell in Dante’s Inferno, over a door. It is a far cry from the words reported by William Schuize, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Aviation Editor in 1960 as being over the door, “Coles Imperamus” meaning “We Rule the Skies”.

Like all missile defense sites involved in the Nike Project, the Redmond Nike Missile Base never launched a missile defensively. Still by the time the project was conceptualized in 1952 the military was already developing an improved version. The Nike Ajax Missile was replaced by the Nike Hercules and the Nike Hercules was replaced by the Nike Zeus starting in 1960. Across America, sites were dedicated to the development of nuclear warheads, production of nuclear supplies, and storage of/defense against nuclear attack. Today, we see much of this as a fear-based response to the potential of a nuclear holocaust in which military-fueled economies thrived.

Resources

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/nike-nuclear-missile-site-s1314

http://warbirdsnews.com/warbird-articles/abandoned-nike-missile-bases-united-states.html

https://www.historylink.org/File/9711

http://choosewashingtonstate.com/research-resources/about-washington/brief-state-history/

Eastside Stories: Redmond's Great Fire

Eastside Stories is our way of sharing Eastside history through the many events, people places and interesting bits of information that we collect at the Eastside Heritage Center. We hope you enjoy these stories and share them with friends and family.

Article by: Tom Hitzroth

Frontier towns were typically constructed of wood and could be partially or totally destroyed by a fire that started from a chance spark from many different sources. No community large or small was safe from fire and Redmond was no exception.

On October 26, 1889, William E. Sikes purchased a lot from Luke McRedmond and built the first hotel in Redmond. Sikes called it the Valley Hotel. At this time Redmond was still transitioning from the settlement period in its development and it would be another decade before it took on the character of a town.

Sometime in 1904 or early 1905, Herman S. Reed purchased the property from William Sikes and in 1906 Mary Walther began remodeling the Valley Hotel. The new hotel opened for business as the Hotel Walther by May 1, 1907. On May 12, 1908 Mary Walther purchased the property from Herman S. Reed. On March 13, 1910, a fire started in the hotel. The following is a likely progression of the event based on analysis by a senior fire investigator for the Redmond Fire Department of photographs taken on that day by Winfred Wallace together with the reports from the four major Seattle newspapers.

The investigator verified the chimney was the source of the fire, and explained how the fire spread on the third floor. The first photograph below shows the fire’s progression approximately 15 to 20 minutes after it began. The burn pattern on the east end of the third floor (right in the photograph), and destruction to the window frame suggested that the fire reached an intensity that exploded the third floor window. He also determined, from the way the rafters are exposed the north side of the third floor (farthest away in the photograph) burned faster than the south side.

Once the fire had begun a bucket brigade was formed to save the adjoining property. A call for help was put out to the neighboring communities and Kirkland answered the call. The Kirkland firefighters dragged two pieces of equipment four miles to the scene. However, since Redmond was not on a water system the equipment could not be employed effectively. Unable to suppress the fire there were only a couple of alternatives left. They could let the fire burn, contain it the best they could, and hope it didn’t spread to the rest of the town, or they could try a controlled demolition to bring the fire to an end. It was decided to try a controlled demolition.

The building on the right in the second photograph, though damaged by the fire, was brought down by the controlled demolition. The investigator and I discussed the probable placement of dynamite charges that brought the hotel down. Most likely, because the building was 25 feet north of Cleveland Street, Cleveland Street was 60 feet wide, and based on the density of the surrounding buildings, collapsing the hotel toward Cleveland Street would have been the most viable and sensible option. The fire did not completely burn out until the early morning of March 14.

The destruction of the Hotel Walther in 1910 was a major calamity for Redmond particularly as it jeopardized the survival of the town. Through the skill of those unknown individuals who positioned the dynamite charges that helped contain the fire, the only other buildings lost were a small shed and a barn. The upside was that no customer lost personal belongings in the fire, the hotel furnishings were saved, and no one was injured.

Later in 1910 Mrs. Walther rebuilt the Hotel Walther on the northeast corner of Leary Way and Cleveland Street. In 1912 the property was purchased by Harry Evers and renamed it the Grand Central Hotel.

Both photos top and bottom: Walther Hotel burning March 1910. Photographs by Wallace Studio.

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Our Mission To steward Eastside history by actively collecting, preserving, and interpreting documents and artifacts, and by promoting public involvement in and appreciation of this heritage through educational programming and community outreach.

Our Vision To be the leading organization that enhances community identity through the preservation and stewardship of the Eastside’s history.

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Eastside Stories: Eastside Cities

Eastside Stories is our way of sharing Eastside history through the many events, people places and interesting bits of information that we collect at the Eastside Heritage Center. We hope you enjoy these stories and share them with friends and family.

Cities. Almost all of us on the Eastside today live in one. We may take our cities for granted, but they have not always existed—people had to create them. States are the foundation of the country, and counties are necessary subdivisions of states. Cities are, well, kind of optional.

When Finn Hill joined Kirkland in 2011, one of the last large bits of urban unincorporated area on the Eastside came under the benevolent arm of city hall. Most Eastsiders now live in one of 14 cities in the urbanized areas and five in the rural areas. The boundaries of cities often seem to make little sense, and they sit on top of a patchwork of school and other special districts.

If we were designing a system of governance from scratch we certainly would not end up with anything like the current map of the Eastside. So, how did we end up with our current array of cities?

Cities are formed when a group of residents petition their county government. Once a boundary for a proposed city is agreed upon, residents within that boundary vote on incorporation. Residents can also vote to annex to an existing city, if that city is willing to absorb them.

In the early days of the Eastside, pioneers had few expectations for government services, so cities were slow to form. It can be perfectly fine to live in unincorporated areas without city government. County government provides basic services, and other services are provided by special utility and fire districts and private associations.

Scene on Front Street in Issaquah circa 1910

The first wave of incorporations happened in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Issaquah is the oldest city on the Eastside, dating back to 1892 (originally named Gilman). It was a coal mining town that made a successful transition to railroad work. Snoqualmie (1903), Bothell (1909) and North Bend (1909) all had their roots in the early railroad routes and as logging and agricultural commercial centers.

Kirkland, which incorporated in 1905, was slated to become the “Pittsburgh of the West.” By the time Peter Kirk’s big industrial plans fell through, Kirkland had become a good sized settlement, and it made sense to form a city. Redmond, had its roots as a timber and railroad center, and incorporated its growing downtown in 1912. The farming and railroad towns of Carnation and Duvall incorporated in 1912 and 1913, respectively.

In 1910, when the postcard was mailed, Redmond was big enough not only to have its own souvenir cards, but also a local post office to mail them from.

Then city formation on the Eastside ground to a halt for decades. Growth was slow, as mining and timber activity wound down and few new large industries moved to the still-remote area. Some larger settlements, like those around the mines of Newcastle, disbanded. Bellevue was still just a one-street village, and the vast commercial areas of Overlake were farms and forests. Not much need for new cities.

Then in the 1950s, the Eastside sprang to life.

The new bridge across Mercer Island opened the area to large scale homebuilding, and Bellevue began to resemble a real city. In 1953 Bellevue incorporated with just under 6,000 residents. Feeling Bellevue breathing down their necks, the Points Communities formed themselves into four separate cities: Clyde Hill (1953), Hunts Point (1955), Medina (1955), Yarrow Point (1959). And the tiny artists colony of Beaux Arts Village formed itself into a town in 1954.

Eugene Boyd and Phil Reilly celebrate the incorporation of Bellevue in 1953

Then another 35 years of quiet. Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah and Bothell gradually annexed surrounding neighborhoods, but many pockets of residential area were perfectly happy with the benign neglect that county government offered.

But along came a less benign force: the Growth Management Act of 1989, which required extensive planning and encouraged higher density development. Nothing gets the attention of otherwise complacent citizens like the prospect of changes in land use, and within a few years, the Eastside had four more cities seeking to control their destiny: Woodinville (1993), Newcastle (1994), Kenmore (1998), Sammamish (1999).

In many respects, cities are the ultimate democratic institutions: groups of free citizens banding together to form a local government that will collect taxes from them and provide services they ask for. The chaotic looking map of the Eastside is the result of tens of thousands of individual decisions by Eastsiders about how they want to shape their neighborhoods. Individual cities take on the character of their residents over time and become unique places.

From chaos comes community.

All images from the collection of the Eastside Heritage Center. If you are interested in obtaining images from our collection, which has extensive holdings from Eastside cities, contact us at collections@eastsideheritagecenter.org

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Learn more about the Eastside. Books available from Eastside Heritage Center include:

Lake Washington: The Eastside

Bellevue: the Post World War II Years

Our Town, Redmond

Medina

Hunts Point

Bellevue: Its First 100 Years

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Our Mission To steward Eastside history by actively collecting, preserving, and interpreting documents and artifacts, and by promoting public involvement in and appreciation of this heritage through educational programming and community outreach.

Our Vision To be the leading organization that enhances community identity through the preservation and stewardship of the Eastside’s history.

Eastside Heritage Center is supported by 4 Culture