Eastside
The term “Eastside” is a relative phrase and designates different areas depending on who is speaking. Some define it narrowly and others not so much so. For the purpose of this web-site, we will define the Eastside as the area generally located northeast, east and south east of Lake Washington. In other words, from the northern tip to the southern tip of Lake Washington’s eastern shoreline and to the foot of the Cascades, this being far east. Within this area there is a multitude of towns, both old and new, all of which have their own civic identity and culture. We will focus on various towns and try to highlight their uniqueness of character and activities.
Many who are visiting our area and many who live on the eastside or elsewhere in our region may be unaware of the wonderful things there are to do and see on our very doorstep.
Historically, the Eastside was a great wilderness full of giant trees, reaching four hundred feet tall and one thousand to two thousand years old. There were many kinds of wild berries for the picking, plus wild game to supplement the diets of the native inhabitants. Lake Washington provided a natural highway for easy access by canoe for those living to the west of Lake Washington.
As the white settlers began to move east from Elliott Bay, they found an abundance of building material at hand and lush good land to be cleared and farmed. As early as the 1870s, steamboats began to appear on Lake Washington. These boats were the only efficient means for transporting passengers and goods across the lake. Later, passenger and auto-ferries were added to this transportation mix. This continued until the opening of the first floating bridge in 1940.
The steamboat business itself created much commercial activity along both shores of Lake Washington. Ship yards sprang up as the demand for steamboats, barges, passenger, and eventually auto ferries developed. Not to be overlooked was the business of repairs and rebuilds, as the occasional steamboat would catch fire and sometimes burn to the waterline.
Lumber and shake mills took their place along with shipbuilding and other early manufacturing enterprises, giving rise to ever more commercial activities around and along the shores of Lake Washington.
Today… gone are most of the shipbuilding and repair yards, lumber and shake mills, and other early manufacturing activities. Gone are the native canoes, passenger/auto ferries, and barges, regularly hauling passengers and goods. The farms and dairies, so plentiful in the past, are disappearing, as are the dirt roads and lanes that once crisscrossed the area.
Today, only museums, pictures, and an occasional historically-preserved example remain to remind us of our Eastside past. Today we see buildings that are four hundred feet tall and ten to twenty years old. Paved roads and streets are now the norm and two multilane floating bridges now cross Lake Washington. Multilane highways bisect and dissect our area to allow the transportation of people and goods to, from and through the Eastside.
The Eastside is a growing, changing, thriving community, each area adding to or taking something from the other. The sense of vitality and expectancy is alive and well, and moving in all directions.
The Eastside has much to offer for all those who take time to check it out. Watch our list grow and do not forget to share your favorite places with us at Belva’s List at the Contact Us page.
