On 59th SW, south of Admiral Way and just a few blocks uphill from Alki Elementary/Playfield, you may notice smoke sometime in the next day or two: Don’t worry, the Fire Department is already there. They’re preparing this house for “test burns,” which is sometimes done when a house is slated for demolition (as is this one, with a new house to be built in its place). One side note, though – Both our tipster (John from the Rotary Club of West Seattle – thanks!), and the Fire Department folks at the scene, pointed out that this is a house once owned by the legendary Ivar Haglund (of clams, songs, and until this year, fireworks fame). The plat name there, in fact, is Haglund’s 2nd Addition (as various online histories note, the Haglund family once owned all of Alki Point). There’s a traffic note here, too:
Nearby resident Cathy Woo tells WSB neighbors have been told northbound 59th SW (the road is split by a median slope in that area, so 59th is really two one-way streets for a short stretch) will be closed Tuesday-Friday for “all but local residents” – it’s a popular route to Alki.
Online property records say this house was built exactly a century ago, in 1909. Ivar Haglund was born in 1905 and died in 1985.
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