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<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto: <\/span>Seattle Municipal Archives\/Flickr<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The first white settlers arrived on Alki Point in West Seattle in 1851 but left within a few months, moving to a less wet and rainy location on the other side of Elliott Bay. Since then, West Seattle has developed into a bustling neighborhood with beautiful water views. Here is a look back on the making of West Seattle.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Public Library<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n With its many connections to Seattle, Harbor Avenue in West Seattle developed into a commercial and manufacturing strip. It was home not only to the ferry terminal but also to two small shipbuilders, two yacht clubs, a boathouse, fish processors and a \u201cbone yard\u201d for retired vessels of the Puget Sound Navigation Co. A grain elevator with a flour mill attached in the area continued to grind and sack flour until 1956.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Public Library <\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n In 1908, wealthy philanthropist Andrew Carnegie agreed to donate $35,000 to build a library in West Seattle. The 9,460-square-foot branch was designed by W. Marbury Somervell and Joseph S. Cot\u00e9 and cost $38,344.48. It opened on July 23rd, 1910.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Municipal Archives\/Flickr <\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n West Seattle was the first city in the United States to own a street railway. They purchased a private line in 1902 and operated it briefly before annexing to Seattle in 1907.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Municipal Archives\/Flickr <\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n There was no official US post office in West Seattle in the late 1800s, so some private businesses like J.D. McGee Grocery were permitted to provide private mail services to residents. McGee offered the service until 1907 when he sold his business.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Public Library<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n In the early 1900s, West Seattle Land and Improvement Company repeatedly promised to improve the transportation system, provide more reliable water supplies, and install electric lighting on the peninsula. However, when none of these upgrades happened, voters pushed for annexation of Seattle. West Seattle officially became part of Seattle in 1907. Consisting of more than 16 square miles, it was by far the largest of the six towns annexed by Seattle that same year.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Public Library<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n During World War II, thousands of workers rushed in to work at defense plants on Harbor Island. By the end of the war, West Seattle\u2019s population had doubled to more than 70,000. The Spokane Street viaduct, linking Harbor Island with Beacon Hill, was completed in 1943 with emergency funding from the federal government.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Municipal Archives\/Flickr<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The Vann Brothers Restaurant originally started as a small place for West Seattle High school students to gather and eat candy bars and sodas. A year later, Grandma Vann began preparing roasts and hams for sandwiches, and over time the space evolved into a beloved West Seattle restaurant.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Municipal Archives\/Flickr<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n During World War II, Japanese-American families living in Delridge went to internment camps, and temporary war-worker housing crowded the playfields and empty lots. A flood of workers from the Midwest and South changed the neighborhood\u2019s demographics. By 1990, Filipinos, Koreans, Samoans and African-Americans made up more than one-third of the population.<\/p>\n Photo: <\/span>Seattle Municipal Archives\/Flickr<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n West Seattle has always been a magnet for creatives and artists. Among West Seattle’s most famous residents are Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder, actress Dyan Cannon, nature photographer Art Wolfe, Amanda Knox and Frances Farmer.<\/p>\nGrain elevator, West Seattle, 1890<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWest Seattle Public Library, 1910<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWest Seattle Cable Railway, 1895<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nJ.D. McGee Grocery, circa 1900<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nView from West Seattle, 1907<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nLooking north toward Fisher Flouring Mills plant from Spokane St. viaduct, 1949<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nVann Brothers Restaurant, 1952<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nAerial of West Seattle, 1957<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nFair in West Seattle, 1960<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWest Seattle Bridge under construction, circa 1983<\/h2>\n