Reader report: 1766 Alki SW demolished, former home of longtime ‘neighborhood watch guard’

| Development | West Seattle news

That 96-year-old beach house at 1766 Alki SW (map) was demolished today. It was a home with history, according to beach resident Roger Hayes (who shared the photos as well as the info):

The backstory of this house is, it belonged to Mary Starks, who was a longtime fixture in this little stretch of Alki Beach. She and her husband William “Bill” Starks, who passed away in the mid-’70s, originally bought this house in the mid-’50s. Mary was the neighborhood watch guard, avid gardener, raccoon caretaker, and beloved “grandmother” figure of our little Alki beach house community. She lived in the house up until early 2013 when her health was such that she could no longer live there alone, and was relocated to live with or near a niece in the Salt Lake City Utah area.

Sad to see the disappearance of another beach house that gave Alki Beach its original charm. However, totally understand the area and land is too valuable to not make way for progress of the modern day McMansions and multi-unit palaces that are becoming commonplace to the Alki Beach area.

Permits for this to be replaced by a larger single-family home were granted last summer. The site is zoned Lowrise-2, which would have allowed multi-family construction.

NW December 3, 2014 (8:38 pm)

Thanks for sharing the history of the individuals and the photos hope that folks in the Alki beach house community dug up and rescued some of the avid gardener well cared for plants. From info shared by my parents and family growing up in west seattle this area is where a lot of people of lower income lived ,now not so.

Mike December 3, 2014 (8:47 pm)

It’s really sad to see the beach bungalows and shacks disappearing with history from that stretch of Alki and Harbor Avenues. But let’s be honest in saying they’ve been disappearing from that stretch for years (decades?) now.
That’s merely one of many reasons I’m glad Alki Beach’s construction “height limit” remains in effect. Once that goes, from the outside it would appear the “beach”-like charm will go with it.

WSB December 3, 2014 (9:00 pm)

Your comment reminds me that I should look in the Seattle Muni Archives for anything from this stretch. Definitely, we didn’t publish this to say that this was the first or last or only bungalow to go … but we so appreciate reader reports with history/details we wouldn’t know otherwise. Same as the saga of the old rundown ex-Fraker’s Grocery near Ercolini Park.

Robert F December 4, 2014 (9:44 am)

“However, totally understand the area and land is too valuable to not make way for progress of the modern day McMansions and multi-unit palaces that are becoming commonplace to the Alki Beach area.” I understand the economics, but I wouldn’t call it “progress.”

Born on Alki December 4, 2014 (9:58 am)

NW, so true. Growing up on Alki I remember my folks not wanting to tell anyone where they lived, as Alki was not quite the neighborhood it is today. Mom says she was embarrased to tell anyone she lived on Alki. The Starks residence is so typical of what Alki Ave once was, pretty much bungalows and shantys built from salvaged material and whatever washed up on the beach. My how times have changed. Refreshing to see this is a single family residence going in.

Bruce December 4, 2014 (2:16 pm)

Too bad they couldn’t move the house to another lot instead of demolition.

WSB December 4, 2014 (2:37 pm)

Hi, Bruce, same thing as when you’ve brought that point up before in other demolition stories … it’s almost impossible to make that happen these days … costs a ton to move the house, even if the structure itself is given away, it’s the prep and moving and purchasing of a new lot. This company is the only specialist we know of: http://www.nickelbros.com/moving … and having seen a couple moves, it’s an amazingly intense process! You might remember the one on the Oregon 42 site a few years ago:
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https://westseattleblog.com/2010/07/followup-saving-4516-42nd-sw-by-moving-it-within-west-seattle/
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https://westseattleblog.com/2010/07/happening-now-moving-the-house-from-4516-42nd-sw/

fiz December 4, 2014 (8:09 pm)

I remember that when my brother and I were kids our dad would drive our old car down to Alki Ave to show us the bungalows pushed into the middle of the street by the hillside mudslides. The houses would be jacked up and shoved back into place until the next time. We thought it a great adventure to go look at them.

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