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Old trolley pilings removed from East Green Lake Beach

What do you think? (26 Comments) June 22, 2010 at 6:50PM

My Green Lake reader Rebecca wrote to us earlier today (Tuesday, June 22, 2010) with this query:

Just wondering if you know why the east side of Greenlake swim area is closed off. I was walking down there today and was bummed to see it closed since it’s so warm outside.

We contacted Evans Pool Aquatic Center Coordinator Donna Sammons and asked about closures at the lake.

Sammons told us that five old pilings are being removed from the swimming area at East Green Lake Beach.  The pilings are part of a trolley line that was built along the eastern shore and northern end of Green Lake in 1891.

A photo of the Green Lake trolley line from that time is available through the University of Washington Libraries.  You can read about a Green Lake street car accident that injured seventy people in 1920 here.  Seattle’s street car tracks were torn up in 1941.

Green Lake trolley, 1896

Green Lake trolley, 1896
Creative Commons License photo credit: Seattle Municipal Archives

Sammons told us that the old trolley pilings, which are in about two feet of water, have sharp edges and are a trip hazard.

Seattle Parks and Recreation has a permit for their removal.  Work began today with the pilings being cut off well below the mud line.  Sammons says that the area where the pilings were will be filled in after they are removed.

The Green Lake beaches do not officially open until this Saturday (June 26, 2010).  Starting on Saturday, official open hours will be weekends, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and weekdays, 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Sammons reminded us that if you swim at Green Lake outside of open hours, it is at your own risk.  She also reported that the lake is still a chilly 64.5°.

Update, Wednesday 10:20 a.m. NOTE: These objects may not in fact be remnants of the old trolley line.  See the comments below for a further discussion about this.  Thanks, seattler0cks!

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What do you think? (26 Comments)
  • seattler0cks

    Sammons told us that five old pilings are being removed from the swimming area at East Green Lake Beach. The pilings are part of a trolley line that was built along the eastern shore and northern end of Green Lake in 1891.

    —-

    Is that correct? Here:

    http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_vie…

    is a 1896 photo of the track/trolley. That intersection is 72nd and E. Green Lake Way. The same intersection is show here:

    http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_vie…

    showing William Wood's (future Seattle mayor) in the background (that cow never seems to move!:). That same corner is where the current Greenlake Bar and Grill resides.

    Note, the track shown is far removed from the pilings Ms. Sammons refers to. Moreover, in 1891 the lake was seven feet higher, so they would have been much farther out in the water. If they are old track pilings I'd loved to get more info – and a piece of a piling for the record! And if they aren't I'd love to discover what they did belong to.

  • mygreenlake

    seattler0cks, you know I love you!

    Good points that you raise, as always….hmmmm

    Donna reported that they are pilings from the old trolley line, but I was the one who made the leap to say that they were part of the trolley line that was built along the eastern shore Green Lake in 1891. I figured that this was the only explanation, as hasn't that been the only trolley line in Green Lake? seattler0cks, do you know of any other trolley line? I've never seen mention of anything, but that doesn't mean it didn't exist…but wouldn't we know if there was a different trolley at some point (?). This might be a stretch, but maybe they *were* from the 1891 trolley, and after the trolley tracks were ripped up in 1941, they were discarded in the lake? [Seems unlikely though, as it sounds as though they were embedded vertically in the lake bottom].

    A piece of the old piling *would* be cool to have (for geeks like you and me). If you want some, you should head down ASAP and see if you can beg a bit off of one of the folks removing them. And, if you do that, and are able to sleuth out a fuller explanation of what these pilings might be, let me know!

    In the meantime, I'll update the post above with a note that these piling may indeed not be trolley pilings…(bummer!)

    THANKS seattler0cks!

    amy

  • seattler0cks

    Amy-

    What would be valuable to know is:

    a. Ms. Sammon's source
    b. Information regarding the pilings in the lake

    In the case of (b), their dimension and their configuration (I would expect they would be paired if they supported tracks). (I may head down there later today and see if I can catch one of the crew).

    Note, heading counter clockwise past the canoe rental business, one begins to see more pilings in the water. I believe those use to support this:

    http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm-mohai/ite…

    if I have the correct bearings. Perhaps the pilings above were part of a similar structure?

  • mygreenlake

    Good call. I'll contact Donna Sammons and see what I can find out.

    Let me know if you head down…and what you discover!

    amy

  • seattler0cks

    Amy,

    I spoke to Kathy Whitman (Aquatics Manager), and they were going on the notion that a trolley had run on this side of the lake (and completely around, eventually, actually), at one time, and ergo, the pilings might belong to this. There was nothing solid. One of the crew who helped cut them below the lake bed level should be calling back next week, and I'm hoping to get more info on their nature. You'd think a photo or two of this area from the time would be lying in some archive somewhere. That's it for now!

  • mygreenlake

    Awesome – thanks seattler0cks! In the meantime, I've contacted Donna Sammons – I'll let you know if I find out anything more!

  • Mizbenson

    It would be interesting to know their placement – parallel to the shore or not – as perhaps it was dock pilings rather than track pilings.

  • seattler0cks

    Well, on the topic of placement, we are hopefully getting a call back from a fellow who was on the removal crew. I do wish there was a little better coordination on these things just to lessen the chance of something of historical relevance being missed. Here, to add to the possibilities, another track:

    http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs….

    Whether this would have required pilings or not, I have no idea (actually, city archives might contain something about this, since it had to be funded).

  • mygreenlake

    Many thanks, seattler0cks, for all of your work on this. Once you hear back about the placement of the pilings, let me know – I'm happy to check the city archives (unless *you* are an archivist yourself?).

    Again, thank you!!

    Amy

  • seattler0cks

    Ha. Well, I'm just assuming I'm accumulating frequent posts points so I can EVENTUALLY earn a FREE myGreenlake blog t-shirt with a picture of Duck Island or, if I'm really lucky, a Green Lake trolley on it! (incidentally, there's an idea!). :)

  • mygreenlake

    Ha! Stay tuned. ;)

  • seattler0cks

    Well, on the topic of placement, we are hopefully getting a call back from a fellow who was on the removal crew. I do wish there was a little better coordination on these things just to lessen the chance of something of historical relevance being missed. Here, to add to the possibilities, another track:

    http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs….

    It was built to fill in this end of the lake in 1913. Whether it would have required pilings or not, or was built on a temporary structure that “was returned to the lake,” I have no idea (actually, city archives might contain something about this, since it had to be funded), and

  • mygreenlake

    Many thanks, seattler0cks, for all of your work on this. Once you hear back about the placement of the pilings, let me know – I'm happy to check the city archives (unless *you* are an archivist yourself?).

    Again, thank you!!

    Amy

  • seattler0cks

    Ha. Well, I'm just assuming I'm accumulating frequent posts points so I can EVENTUALLY earn a FREE myGreenlake blog t-shirt with a picture of Duck Island or, if I'm really lucky, a Green Lake trolley on it! (incidentally, there's an idea!). :)

  • mygreenlake

    Ha! Stay tuned. ;)