Seattle Business District – Aurora Ave 4K Nighttime Street View – Episode 4

In 1880s Aurora Avenue began as a rough wagon road through the dense forest. In September of 1884, Oak Lake Cemetery was founded by David Denny on the east side of 110th and Aurora. In 1893 Denny was forced to sell the cemetery due to a stock market crash where he had lost everything. The name of the cemetery was then changed to Washelli by the new owners. In the early 1900s, a group of businesspeople purchased the property on the west side of Aurora at 110th and tried to sell the land for housing development. This development failed because it was too far out of town. In 1919, the group formed the Evergreen Cemetery. By 1927, the two competing cemeteries were merged to become the Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery.

By the late 1920s, development became increasingly automobile-oriented, and development spread farther east and west from the North Trunk Road. New businesses were established, including cafes, roadhouses, and gas stations In the late 1920s and early 1930s,. Commercial centers had already formed at the old Interurban stations and the North Trunk Road helped increase the automobile-oriented commercial developments.

In 1930, City Engineer and later mayor, George Cotterill, chose the name “Aurora” to recognize it as the highway to the north, toward the aurora borealis and the North Trunk Road became Aurora Avenue N. The state highway department identified the road as Pacific Highway 1. By 1969, the road had become U.S. Highway 99.

On June 30, 1930, the Seattle City Council approved an ordinance extending Aurora Avenue through Woodland Park. The city council followed the advice of city and state highway engineers that a multi-lane highway is needed to provide a direct approach from the George Washington Memorial Bridge (Aurora Avenue Bridge) north to Everett. The State Highway Department and the “good roads” groups also wanted the new bridge to carry through traffic on the Pacific Highway, more efficiently through Seattle.

In 1932, the George Washington Memorial Bridge over the Lake Washington Ship Canal opened to traffic and the new bridge offered a quick, direct route from North Seattle into downtown. In 1937, the Twin Teepees restaurant opened. This restaurant was once owned by Seattle restaurateur Walter Clark and one former cook went on to greatness by founding the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food chain. In 1947, Aurora Avenue was selected as a Blue Star Memorial Highway to honor World War II veterans. https://www.pacific-hwy.net/aurora.htm

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