Everett Massacre site draws fire once again

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, December 12, 2006

EVERETT – The railroad trestle on Hewitt Avenue, just a stone’s throw from the site of the notorious Everett Massacre, should be preserved as open space with a commemorative plaque, some say.

But Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway has other plans: a 10,000-cubic-yard earthen berm.

That’s enough dirt to fill a fleet of 1,000 dump trucks.

Tearing out the obsolete steel bridge would eliminate a maintenance chore and allow the railroad to straighten the slightly curving tracks, railroad spokesman Gus Melonas said.

The pile would also permanently wall off a pedestrian trail to Pigeon Creek and one of downtown Everett’s traditional gateways to the waterfront.

That has some upset, particularly because of what happened there.

On Nov. 5, 1916, gunfire punctuated a labor dispute between the Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies, and a posse of 200 deputized Everett residents under then-Sheriff Donald McRae. At least seven people were killed and 46 wounded in the infamous gunfight.

“It seems like the city could do so much better,” said Mark Sexauer, co-owner of the Anchor Pub at the corner of Hewitt Avenue and Bond Street. “There’s nothing you can do to a dirt berm to make it look good.”

Sexauer, who bought the bar with a partner earlier this year, said a small park at the site with a bench would be an inviting place for nearby workers and others to enjoy lunch.

For now, few would argue that the site has much curb appeal. A strip of the original red brick road runs beneath the bridge behind tall weeds and a chain-link fence collecting wind-blown-trash.

Railroad crossings at Hewitt Avenue and California Street were closed to traffic after the completion of a $10 million Everett Avenue overpass in 2003.

The overpass, extending to the waterfront, allows the unrestricted passage of freight and safety equipment to the Port of Everett’s marine terminals.

It has also helped the port comply with federal mandates to restrict access to its property.

The port calls the railroad’s plans a “significant upgrade over current conditions.”

David Mascarenas, who lives on nearby Rucker Hill, disagrees. He wants to see a marker erected to commemorate the Everett Massacre.

“If they close down that bridge, it’s closed forever,” Mascarenas said. “We don’t even have a damn plaque down there.”

Mascarenas recently dusted off some of the city’s own drawings of an urban design plan for the harborfront.

The 1985 drawings included a public fishing pier, restaurant and park along an esplanade at the end of Hewitt Avenue.

Alan Giffen, director of Everett’s planning department, said the plans never got past the conceptual stage.

Other proposed improvements in the past included a boardwalk between Everett and Mukilteo, Giffen said.

More recently, the land near the BNSF bridge was pitched for a parklike setting with a historic marker overlooking the massacre site.

Bill Belshaw, president of Historic Everett, a nonprofit preservation organization, said the site “is definitely a historic place.”

However, the railroad’s environmental applications with the city indicate that the site has no known historic significance.

The city’s planning department is currently evaluating the application to determine whether more studies or mitigation are needed.

“The city should not simply treat this as if it were a railroad improvement project located in the middle of nowhere,” Belshaw said.

City Councilman Drew Nielsen, who fought to maintain public access to the port after the railroad overpass was built, said the berm should be landscaped, at the very least.

“Just looking down Hewitt at a mound of dirt raises some concerns,” he said.

Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.