Mountlake Terrace shares its 50 year history at library

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Mountlake Terrace has changed a lot since 1954, but, considering 50 years has gone by, perhaps not as much as one would expect.

The city is still a small, “bedroom community,” where most people who live and then leave to work elsewhere and come back at night. The city still has many churches, parks and community involvement, just like 50 years ago, according to the new Mountlake Terrace 50th birthday display at the city’s library.

The number of people who call themselves residents has changed. In 1954, there were about 7,000 people, “now its over 20,000,” said longtime resident Stan Krahn, a retired Mountlake Terrace police captain and member of the city’s historical and 50th birthday committees. “And, the city started at about 2 square miles and is now a little over 4 square miles,” he said.

The birthday display will remain at the library through November, Krahn said. Photos of him and other early police officers and firefighters are in the display.

The display is an effort of a lot of folks who saved, or accumulated from other sources, pictures and information about how the city has grown and changed over the past 50 years.

The display is part of the city’s ongoing activities this year all heading toward the big day in November, Nov. 6, when Mountlake Terrace turns the big 5-0 with a special gala event.

The display shows bird’s-eye view pictures of how the city looked throughout the years as homes were built and businesses changed.

The city itself was put on the map after World War II when Al LaPierre and Jack Peterson developed a large piece of the area and built the cement-block houses for which Mountlake Terrace is famous. Krahn bought his classic Mountlake Terrace home 51 years ago for $8,000. He sold it years ago, but said it was recently for sale at $210,000.

“After World War II, there was a plan to put in a small airport in lower Terrace, that didn’t come about and so the developers got the land and started building the small cement-block homes,” Krahn said.

They were built fast, Krahn said because there was an immediate demand for them with veterans returning home and starting families.

“Boeing was also going pretty strong and those families needed starter homes,” he said.

In the display, two Realtor books are shown trying to get out-of-towners to come to Mountlake Terrace to buy homes.

“Mountlake Terrace offers … two- bedroom Dura-Homes, standard for $5,300,” the booklet reads. Buyers could choose a “two-bedroom Dura-Home deluxe for $6,300.” They also offered a three-bedroom for $7,950. All three came with “a recreation room and double plumbing.”

Scanning the display, there are interesting tidbits including a photo of when a plane crashed in the city in 1962 and a photo of when a strong wind blew down a bridge that used to lead to an old farm house located on the now very soggy Lake Ballinger island.

Many of the changes in Mountlake Terrace mirror changes in any small city in America.

For example, “in the 60’s,” Krahn said, “we had 13 churches and 13 full service gas stations— most of the churches are still here but most gas stations are gone.”

Also, Krahn said, the downtown area of Mountlake Terrace at 56th Avenue W. and 232nd Street SW was much more bustling at that time then it is now. Double DD Meats was one of the first businesses in that downtown area and remains today.

Krahn said the downtown area “had everything.” Along with the butcher it had a department store, grocery, drug store, shoe and hardware stores a tavern, cleaners and post office among other stores, he said.

In 1990, Krahn said, an arson fire burned down both sides of what was the shopping center. Another reason why the businesses didn’t last there, Krahn said, “well, you got to blame that on the other shopping malls in nearby cities,” he said. “People were going there rather than these stores.”

Rogers Grocery store had previously been other grocery store names, including the Lucky grocery chain. Before the grocery stores started there, the building was used as a cabinet shop, Krahn said.

What is now the I-5 freeway used to be a large empty canyon sometimes used by motorcycle riders, a scene in the library display. The freeway came in 1963.

“Before I-5, people went back and forth between each city on Highway 99,” Krahn said.

In the process of building more roads, workers found an old mortar-like bowl, what is believed to be a pioneer or perhaps Native American relic, Krahn said, also displayed at the library.

The Mountlake Terrace Library is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturdays and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays during the school year. The library is located at 23300 58th Avenue W. in Mountlake Terrace, next to City Hall. For more information call 425-776-8722.