contact us  |  site map  |  disclaimer  |  home
search  |  print

History

A walk through the ages- see how it all began in the City of Kenmore!

 
EventsParks SceneryHistory Book
events
Parks
Scenery
History Book

 

 

McMaster Shingle Mill

 Vertical Line 2

 

The American hotel

The McMaster Shingle Mill on the Lake Washington shoreline
The McMaster Shingle Mill sprawls along the Lake Washington shoreline in 1909. The foreground buildings face a dirt road that later became Bothell Way. Just beyond are the railroad tracks and in the background is the site of the future Inglewood area. Photo courtesy of Snohomish County Museum & Historical Association and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society

 

 American hotel remains
Kenmore's first hotel, the American, housed Greek and Italian immigrant workers who laid the bricks for the road in 1913 that became Bothell Way. Photo courtesy of the Bannister family and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society

 
First City Council
   

Kenmore's first City Council
The first city council, elected in the spring of 1998 to guide the new government, became official when the city incorporated in August 1998. Members, left to right, are Tika Esler, deputy mayor Dick Taylor, Deborah Chase, mayor Jack Crawford, Chip Davidson, Steve Colwell, and Elodie Morse.

 

Future air harbor
Vertical Line 2
Mitchell Grocery Store
Future air harbor
A former swamp hosts the beginnings of Kenmore Air Harbor in 1946. Owner Bob Munro and his family lived in the house (right) that also served as an office for his small fleet of floatplanes.
Photo courtesy of Kenmore Air Harbor and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society
 Mitchell Grocery Store
The intersection of Bothell Way and 68th Avenue NE appears serene in the early 1940s with its single stoplight. The community's first grocery store, on the northwest corner of the intersection, was built by James and Sarah Mitchell in 1919. Next door, Ed and Eliza Mahler opened Kenmore's first gas station, a Mobil outlet, in 1920.Photo courtesy of Doris Clements and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society

 


 

Pre-Mix Trucks
 

Old Kenmore Pre-Mix trucks
The first fleet of Kenmore Pre-Mix trucks are poised to serve the building boom of the 1950s, when concrete products were in especially high demand. Photo courtesy of Jane Hallock Paige and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society

 

Lake Washington shoreline

 

 Vertical Line 2 Helping Develop Kenmore
Industrial site on the lake
Multiple use of the Lake Washington shoreline in 1948 shows the Northwest Plywood mill and its log boom located next to Kenmore Building Materials (center). Barely visible at lower left is Kenmore Air Harbor. The scene is bounded by Bothell Way (upper). Photo courtesy of the Menard family and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society
 Helping Develop Kenmore
Real estate offices sprang up in the Kenmore area in the 1920s and '30s to promote the availability of cheap land. This office on Bothell Way at 63rd Avenue NE advertised large view lots with water and electricity for "$200 and up." This site is occupied today by the Tai Ho Restaurant. Photo courtesy of Doris Clements and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society
 
 

Kenmore Inn
The Kenmore Inn staff stands ready to offer oysters and Sunday dining in March 1935. The cafe opened in the early 1930s at 63rd Avenue NE and Bothell Way, giving way to the Chowder Bowl in 1941. It is now the site of Passport Travel.
Photo courtesy of Loren Day and provided by
Kenmore Heritage Society

 

 Emmanuel Tabernacle

 

 Vertical Line 2 Ward's Resort
Emmanuel Tabernacle
The congregation of Emmanuel Tabernacle mission church at Linwood Heights clusters outside the church in the 1940s. The church name later became Bethel Evangelical Free Church. Photo courtesy of Ruth Rongerude and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society
 Ward's Resort
Ward's Beach Resort on the north end of Lake Washington was a popular destination for recreation from 1947 to 1959. The property owned by Carl Ward later became Uplake Marina and then Davidson's Marina. Photo courtesy of Carl Ward and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society
   
 
 
Fire Department
   
Early Kenmore Fire Department
The Kenmore Fire Department displays a variety of equipment in the late 1950s at its first station, located at 67th Avenue NE and NE 181st Street. The vehicles are (left to right) the "whoopee wagon," a 1954 Ford panel truck remodeled as an aid unit, a 1944 Mercury ladder truck, a 1949 Ward LaFrance ladder truck, and the department's newest vehicle, a 1955 Mac pumper truck. Photo courtesy of Kenmore Fire Department and provided by Kenmore Heritage Society