Scott McMurray is on a quest. Part of his Morgan Junction building on the northwest corner of California/Fauntleroy was a hospital a century ago, and he’s looking for a photo. He’s already tried everything else you could suggest – newspapers, historic archives, libraries, even the family of the hospital’s namesake. Now he’s asking you:

As a final try, I thought I would ask the West Seattle community to see if someone could find a picture in their grandmother’s scrapbook. There was a time, around 1916 to the early 1930s, when about half the babies born in West Seattle saw the first light of day in Dr. Charles Boudwin’s hospital in Morgan Junction.

Here is the 1930s map. This building on the northwest corner of California and Fauntleroy will have its 100th anniversary in 2028. On this map, the Boudwin Hospital is listed as 6506 Fauntleroy Avenue which is roughly in the back of today’s Whisky West located at 6451 California. Today’s ZEEKS PIZZA is at 6459 California Avenue. Sometime in the late 1930s the hospital, by then a General Hospital, was torn down. Later in the mid-1940s, a warehouse to a hardware store was added to the back of today’s building. You can see the warehouse in the Google Earth picture on the right:

West side of the Boudwin Hospital.

This is a picture of a house (6510 Fauntleroy Avenue) which was located in today’s upper parking, lot 3 of the map above. On the far right of the picture, we can see the west side of the Boudwin Hospital. As I mentioned, hospitals back then were not the big institutional affairs that we have today. In the early 1900s, many “hospitals“ were just large houses with lots of rooms.

General Hospital Sign.

By the 1930s Dr Boudwin had relocated from West Seattle and his hospital became a “General Hospital,” meaning many different nurses and doctors practised there. You can see their sign above the Piggly Wiggly corner grocery store:

… I believe it is an interesting part of West Seattle history- from caring for Spanish Flu victims to pizza and whiskey. If we locate a picture of the Boudwin Hospital it will make for a more interesting story.

If you have that photo, let us know and we’ll connect you.

Dr. Kenneth Beck wants to take you on a “Paleo Tour” of Alki – paleo as in paleontology. Even if you think you know everything about Alki’s history, his tour will almost certainly teach you something new – about something old.

Dr. Beck is a retired research scientist whose deep academic background (read about it here) includes paleontology and archaeology studies. And now he’s decided to put that to use: “I saw that few people in West Seattle knew anything about how West Seattle ‘got here,’ and that was sad. We live on one of the most interesting outcroppings in the world!”

He says the tour “will involve the ‘Adventurers’ in discovering fossils for themselves! Imagine that. Fossils from the Eocene Epoch (50 million years ago). Then, fast forward to 900 CE (AD), the Vikings were invading Ireland, the Classical Era was ending in India, and Alki rose out of the depth more than 25 feet in one of the grandest of grand earth-shattering quakes!”

The guided lecture/tour will cover two miles in two hours, on e-scooters or e-bikes (bring your own or rent one on Alki), not included in the $40/person honorarium (kids under 10 are free). You’ll meet Dr. Beck at Spud Fish and Chips (a part of Alki’s more-recent history). And this is by appointment only – he says he’ll offer the tour year-round, at low tide. You might see subtle sights like this, which he says is a fossilized clam:

If you’re interested, email him at drbeck@alkipaleotours.org.

(Photo sent by Rose)

The balloons on the recently rescued statue of Rolf Neslund mark the 45th anniversary of what led to the biggest West Seattle Bridge closure yet. On June 11, 1978, Neslund was piloting the freighter Antonio Chavez when it hit the north side of what was at the time the main bridge across the Duwamish River to/from West Seattle. That led to a bridge closure more than twice as long as the one we all recently endured. After the 1978 collision, it was six years until construction was complete on the current high-rise bridge, which was dedicated on July 14, 1984 (so next year will be its 40th anniversary). This city-produced video about the bridge’s history includes historic photos and video, as well as some of the city process that finally resulted in a plan to build the bridge, plus in the final few minutes, the dedication of the “low bridge” in 1991:

So far, no problems have been reported with the high bridge since it reopened nine months ago, following a 2 1/2-year closure.

(Southwest Seattle Historical Society photo)

As noted here earlier this week, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s Log House Museum is closed starting today for about a week and a half. The building isn’t the only thing undergoing an overhaul. SWSHS is also looking at new ways of serving you. They have some questions for you, too, via a community survey. Here’s how the SWSHS explains it:

Like all museums and cultural organizations, the last few years brought challenges for the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and its landmark Log House Museum. But, says its new Programs and Outreach Director, Elizabeth Rudrud, it has also created opportunities.“Visitors are looking for new experiences with their local museums,” says Rudrud, “and the last few years have allowed museums to understand that, to think differently about their programs and audiences.”The is embarking on a strategic planning process to guide its decision making for the next three years and hopes to learn from its community.

A critical component of the process is a community-wide survey. “We hope to learn whether Duwamish Peninsula residents are interested in history, what stories from the past are important to them, what types of programs or services they would like to see us offer,” Rudrud continues, “and for those who have not been to visit the Log House Museum – why? Is this something that could change if the museum did things differently or programmed in different neighborhoods?”

Respondents who choose to enter their name and contact information will be eligible for a drawing to receive a $100 American Express Gift Card. The winner will be notified in late July or August. (Personal information is not required to participate in the survey.)

The museum is already thinking in new directions, renovating its interior to accommodate larger programs and offer private rentals to bring in unrestricted income as well as expanding how it talks about the area’s past.

Recently, it joined as an early partner with the newly established Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. “The partnership allows us to collaborate with a region wide network, rethink how we talk about maritime history, incorporate geological and ecological history, and consider maritime programming.”

The Log House Museum, located one block from Alki Beach, is in a prime location to talk about the history of waterways in Washington State. It was near this location where Chief Sealth, who regularly traveled the region’s waterways, welcomed the arrival of settlers who arrived at Alki Point in 1851 on the Schooner Exact.

The LHM expects to reopen by mid-month; its regular hours are Fridays and Saturdays, noon-4 pm.

(2013 photo – the lighthouse’s centennial year – by Dustin T. Smith)

Tomorrow’s the first day this year that you can visit a historic West Seattle gem – Alki Point Lighthouse. U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers are again there for free tours on Sunday afternoons throughout the summer. Just show up between 1 pm and 3:45 pm on Sundays (except July 2nd). You can learn about its history – going back 110 years! – and enjoy panoramic views of Puget Sound.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand. Above, SWSHS’s Elizabeth Rudrud)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

In the waning moments of tonight’s Southwest Seattle Historical Society spring gala at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), generous bidders helped propel the organization toward its goal.

They dug into their pockets for only-in-West-Seattle items like a music tour with historian Peder Nelson and preservationist John Bennett, riding in a 1949 Cadillac past spots where you might not know history happened. (Nirvana did some recording on 35th, for one, Nelson said.) When a bidding war hit the $500 vicinity, organizers decided to sell two tours.

Auctioneers were longtime SWSHS supporters Clay Eals (below right – he also served as the organization’s first executive director) and Mike Shaughnessy.

Eals noted that investment in SWSHS also represented “hope for the future” as well as a promise not to abandon everything from its past. “There are tangible things we can point to in the community that would not be here if not for this organization” – such as the Alki Homestead/Fir Lodge, which itself factored into the auction, with bids taken on a gift card for the acclaimed Il Nido restaurant that now occupies the landmark log building.

The night began with recognition of history going back much further.

Read More

(Photo from slideshow prepared for today’s meeting)

Pending final city approval, West Seattle will have another city landmark. This afternoon, the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board voted unanimously to recommend giving landmark status to the Cettolin House, 4022 32nd SW [map]. The house was built in the ’20s and ’30s by Italian immigrant Fausto Cettolin, inspired by the architecture of his homeland. He worked as a steelworker at the nearby mill and spent decades working on the home and grounds in his off-hours. He and wife Erma Cettolin raised six children there, the youngest of whom, Virginia, attended today’s hearing.

There wasn’t much discussion; it was largely a recap of what led to the board’s also-unanimous vote last month to consider the designation. Historic-resource consultant David Peterson recapped his extensive nomination document, which details the history not only of the house but also of the neighborhood. (See a shorter slideshow here.) Board members said mostly that they concurred with the staff recommendation that the house and its grounds merited designation, for the same reasons they previously supported advancing its nomination for consideration.

Though it was not a topic at the board meeting, it’s been noted – including by its current owners, who sought the designation – that the Cettolin House is potentially in the path of West Seattle light rail. City landmark status does not necessarily protect a building from demolition. We’re asked Sound Transit how they deal with historic landmarks; while promising a more specific answer, they pointed us to this section of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the West Seattle/Ballard Link Extensions project, which talks in general about “mitigation” if “historic resources” are affected, adding, “Designated Seattle landmarks and districts that would be directly modified would be subject to review and issuance of a certificate of approval from the Landmarks Board and/or District Review Boards.”

NEXT STEPS: Finalization of the Cettolin House’s landmark designation requires a City Council vote approving the “controls and incentives” that will be worked out for it.

SIDE NOTES: Before this, West Seattle’s most-recent landmark designations include two mixed-use buildings in the heart of the West Seattle Junction, the Campbell Building (northeast corner of California/Alaska) in 2017 and the Hamm Building (northwest corner of California/Alaska) in 2018. When the designation is finalized, the Cettolin House will be one of a handful of West Seattle private homes with landmark status, including the Beach Drive “Painted Lady,” the Hainsworth House, and the Bloss House. (Here’s the full city list of landmarks.)

(Photo from landmark-nomination packet)

A month and a half after deciding to consider city-landmark status for the Cettolin House in West Seattle, the city Landmarks Preservation Board is expected to decide tomorrow (Wednesday, April 19th) whether to recommend designating it as a landmark. The 3:30 pm meeting is open, with public comment, at City Hall or online; here’s the agenda, which explains how to access the meeting and how to sign up to comment. The Cettolin House at 4022 32nd SW was built by steelworker Fausto Cettolin on nights and weekends between 1926 and 1939; he and wife Erma Cettolin, Italian immigrants, raised six children in the house, and died three years apart in the 1960s. The staff report for tomorrow’s meeting suggests that the site and exterior of the house meet three standards for landmark designation:

C. It is associated in a significant way with a significant aspect of the cultural, political, or economic heritage of the community, City, state or nation.

D. It embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, or period, or a method of construction.

E. It is an outstanding work of a designer or builder.

You can see images of its exterior and interior in this presentation for tomorrow’s meeting, and read about its history (with a hefty helping of West Seattle history) in the nomination document. For a shorter summary, see this Seattle Now & Then story by West Seattle journalist/historian Clay Eals, published last October.

WEDNESDAY 5:08 PM UPDATE: The designation was approved unanimously. Separate story this evening.