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Keen Way N

This street originates in the 1924 plat of Winona Park, an Addition to the City of Seattle, filed by George Emerson Morford (1890–1946) and his wife, Gertrude Alice Keen Morford (1892–1954). According to Florence Helliesen of the Queen Anne Historical Society, George was president of the F.W. Keen Company, a real estate firm owned by his father-in-law, Frederick Walter Keen (1855–1929). The Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project writes:

Two real estate firms, F.W. Keen Company and J.L. Grandey, Inc., organized most of the racial restrictive covenants for Queen Anne from 1928 to 1931… specifying that “No person or persons of Asiatic, African or Negro blood, lineage, or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property, or any building thereon; except domestic servants may actually and in good faith be employed by white occupants of such premises.”

In addition to being president of F.W. Keen, George Morford was vice president of J.L. Grandey.

Which Keen was honored by Keen Way N — Gertrude Alice Keen Morford, Frederick Walter Keen, or the F.W. Keen Company — isn’t clear; if it was for George Morford’s wife, that would put Keen Way in the same category as Perkins Lane W and Thorndyke Avenue W.

Keen Way N begins at Aurora Avenue N between W Green Lake Drive N and Winona Avenue N and goes ⅕ of a mile northeast to N 76th Street.

Frederick Walter Keen, from his Seattle Times obituary, August 14, 1929
Frederick Walter Keen, from his Seattle Times obituary, August 14, 1929. I was unable to locate a photograph of his daughter, Gertrude.
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Whitney Place NW

This street, originally W 93rd Street in the 1907 plat of Loyal Heights, filed by Edward B. Cox, Harry Whitney Treat (1865–1922), and Treat’s wife, Olive Marion Graef Treat (1869–1945), appears to honor Harry’s middle name, which was also part of his mother’s name and was his grandmother’s maiden name. It begins at View Avenue NW and 32nd Avenue NW and goes just under 300 feet northeast to NW 95th Street.

Cartoon drawing of Harry Whitney Treat riding horse, by John Ross "Dok" Hager, circa 1910
Harry Whitney Treat riding a horse, by John Ross “Dok” Hager, circa 1910
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Densmore Avenue N

This street is named for Milton Densmore (1839–1908), a Civil War veteran from Chelsea, Vermont, who, according to Clarence Bagley’s History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, fought in the Battles of Fairfax Court House, Gettysburg, and Rappahannock Station. He returned to Vermont after the war, then moved to Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1867. Densmore came to Seattle in 1871. Sophie Frye Bass relates in Pig-tail Days in Old Seattle that he started out as “one of the captains of the Linna C. Gray, the stocky barge that carried coal from shore to shore in Lake Union.” In 1875, he opened a grocery, which closed in 1887. Bagley adds that

With various interests of Seattle he was closely associated. He laid the first steel rail for the street car system of Seattle, wooden rails having been used previous to that time. He served for two terms as a member of the city council and exercised his official prerogatives in support of various plans and measures for the general good. He served for seven years as a member of the school board and the cause of education found in him a stalwart champion. Densmore Avenue of Seattle was named in his honor and Seattle in many ways acknowledges her indebtedness to him. He did much toward improving property, built residences and otherwise aided in enhancing the attractiveness of the city and at all times was public spirited and active.

Milton Densmore circa 1907
Milton Densmore, from the November 10, 1907, issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The story was about his reunion with his brother, Jason Densmore, whom he hadn’t seen in over four decades, since the Civil War ended (Jason was likewise a Union soldier from Vermont).

Densmore Avenue N begins at N Northlake Way, just north of Gas Works Park. It then goes ¾ of a mile north to the Wallingford Playfield at N 42nd Street. Resuming a block north, it goes a further ⅖ of a mile to N 50th Street. It picks up again at the north end of Green Lake, where Green Lake Drive N splits into W Green Lake Drive N and E Green Lake Drive N, and goes ⅗ of a mile to Cascadia Elementary School at N 90th Street. Densmore resumes at N 92nd Street and goes another ⅗ of a mile, past Licton Springs Park, to Mineral Springs Park at N 105th Street. It picks up again just north of N Northgate Way for a couple blocks before being stopped by Evergreen–Washelli Cemetery and UW Medical Center – Northwest. After a short segment north of the hospital, it then forms part of the ring arterial around Haller Lake, going ⅓ of a mile from N 122nd Street to N 128th Street, and finishes up with a ½-mile-long segment from Ingraham High School at N 135th Street to the city limits at N 145th Street. (As with many other North Seattle avenues, the name continues on into Shoreline; its northernmost appearance is between N 202nd Place and N 203rd Place, just south of the King–Snohomish county line at N 205th Street.)

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Wickstrom Place SW

This street is named for Peter Wickstrom (1837–1915), who immigrated to the United States from Sweden in the late 1860s. According to Thomas Ostenson Stine’s Scandinavians on the Pacific, Puget Sound, he lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon, before coming to Seattle. His obituary, which ran in The Seattle Times on January 15, 1915, the day after his death, reads in part:

Peter Wickstrom, well-known pioneer of Seattle and an extensive realty holder, died unexpectedly yesterday afternoon after leaving the dinner table at his residence near Alki Point.… The deceased made his home at “The Old Homestead,” a tract of land not far from Alki Point.… Wickstrom came to this city in 1873 and conducted a hotel prior to the fire of 1889. Subsequent to that time he had not engaged actively in business.

Peter Wickstrom, from his Seattle Times obituary, January 15, 1915
Peter Wickstrom, from his Seattle Times obituary

Wickstrom Place SW begins at 54th Place SW just south of Alki Avenue SW and goes around 500 feet south to a dead end.

  • The Peter Wickstrom tract in Baist's 1912 atlas of Seattle
    The Peter Wickstrom tract in Baist’s 1912 atlas of Seattle
  • The Peter Wickstrom tract in Kroll's 1920 atlas of Seattle
    The Peter Wickstrom tract in Kroll’s 1920 atlas of Seattle
Peter Wickstrom’s 7.18-acre tract before and after his death.

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Boyd Place SW

This West Seattle street was created in 1920 as part of Sarah M. Boyd’s First Addition to the City of Seattle. I believe Sarah Maria Loudenback Boyd (1853–1932) to be the Sarah M. Boyd in question here.

Boyd Place SW begins at 59th Avenue SW and SW Charlestown Street and goes around 425 feet southeast to Chilberg Place SW and Aikins Avenue SW.

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Chilberg Avenue SW

This West Seattle street was created in 1889 as part of Chilberg’s Addition to West Seattle, filed by Swedish immigrants Nelson Chilberg (1840–1928) and his wife, Matilda Charlotta Schanstrom Chilberg (1846–1927). The Chilbergs started out as farmers and grocers before developing real estate interests.

  • Matilda Chilberg, from her Seattle Times obituary, July 17, 1927
    Matilda Chilberg
  • Nelson Chilberg, from his Seattle Post-Intelligencer obituary, December 15, 1928
    Nelson Chilberg
Matilda and Nelson Chilberg. Her photo is from the July 17, 1927, issue of the The Seattle Times; his is from the December 15, 1928, issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Chilberg Avenue SW begins at 59th Avenue SW and SW Carroll Street and goes ⅕ of a mile southeast to SW Genessee Street just east of Beach Drive SW at the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook and Me-Kwa-Mooks Park.

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Clarmar Place SW

This West Seattle street is really more of a footpath, being narrow, unpaved, and closed to motor vehicles. The public right-of-way runs about 450 feet northwest from Bonair Drive SW as it descends through the Duwamish Head Greenbelt from Sunset Avenue SW to Alki Avenue SW, and the path continues for some 1,150 feet more through property owned by the parks department.

Clarmar Place SW was created in 1941 as part of the plat of Clarmar Crags, which name appears to be a combination of Clara Coumbe (died 1975?), landowner, and mar, for its location above Elliott Bay and Puget Sound.

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S Delappe Place

This street originates in the 1908 plat of De Lappe’s Addition to the City of Seattle, filed by Emanuel Marcellus DeLappe (1854–1928) and his wife, Catherine E. McGeehan DeLappe (1856–1934). According to the North Rainier Valley Context Statement, “[he] was a saddler and harnessmaker who came to Seattle in about 1890”; in the September 1900 issue of The Leather Workers Journal, it was reported that he had recently been elected president of Branch № 66 of the United Brotherhood of Leatherworkers on Horse Goods.

S Delappe Place begins at the end of 27th Avenue S, south of S Horton Street, and goes around 175 feet west to a dead end at the Cheasty Boulevard greenspace.

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Anthony Place S

This street originates in the 1907 plat of Cascade View Addition to the City of Seattle, King County, Washington. Originally Della Street, it appears to have been renamed for William Gordon Anthony and his wife, C. Nana Anthony, who filed the plat. William, who died June 8, 1925, at the age of 64, had been working in insurance and real estate since 1910, according to his obituary in the June 10 issue of The Seattle Times. In it, his wife’s name is given as Canana, not C. Nana, as the plat has it. (Curiously, her own death certificate [she died November 6 of the same year at the age of 57] gives her name as C. Nanny!)

Anthony Place S begins at 27th Avenue S just south of S Walden Street and S Della Street and goes less than 100 feet southwest before turning into a private driveway, which turns into an alley, which turns into another private driveway that connects to Cheasty Boulevard S. The undeveloped right-of-way continues southwest for another ⅐ of a mile.

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Mayes Court S

This street was created in 1924 as part of Mayes’ Addition to the City of Seattle, filed by Wilbur Mayes (1871–1949); his wife, May H. Stutz Mayes (1870–1948); and George Moore. According to the reports of their deaths in The Seattle Times, on October 5, 1949, and October 14, 1948, respectively, the Mayeses were married in 1896 and lived in the Philippines, where Wilbur was a lumberman, from 1905 to 1912. They moved from the Philippines to Seattle, where he became an accountant. He apparently became a house repairman after retirement, and died after falling 15 feet from a University District neighbor’s roof.

Interestingly, it appears on the plat map as Mayes’ Court, with the apostrophe, but its official name lacks the punctuation, as do, I believe, all Seattle streets. (We have no streets named O’Brien, O’Reilly, O’Sullivan, or the like; I suppose an exception would have been made in such cases.)

Mayes Court S begins at S Carver Street and goes about 350 feet northwest to a cul-de-sac.

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NE Brockman Place

This street appears to have been named for Charles Carl Brockman (1869–1954), proprietor of the unrecorded plat of Brockman’s Tracts. According to the obituary of his son, Charles Clark Brockman (1915–2010), the elder Brockman was “a Seattle pioneer who owned a grocery store [and] various real estate interests in the Denny Regrade and Lake City area.”

NE Brockman Place begins at 19th Avenue NE just north of NE 127th Street and goes ¼ mile northwest to just west of 14th Place NE.

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NW Culbertson Drive

This street was created in 1955 as part of the plat of Llandover-by-the-Sound, filed by (among others) Ralph Glossbrerer Culbertson (1886–1975), a developer, and his wife, Jane R. Effie Redding Culbertson (1884–1976). R.G., as he was known, appears to have earlier been in the storage and moving business, and had “an extensive acquaintance with eight [Canadian] provinces.”

NW Culbertson Drive begins at Hilltop Lane NW and goes ⅓ of a mile west to a dead end overlooking Puget Sound.

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Sherman Road NW

This street was created in 1958 as part of Northshire, an Addition to the City of Seattle, filed by Sherman O. Jensen (1919–2002) and his wife, Dorothy (1920–2008), along with Jeannette D. Jackson and her husband, Paul J. Jackson.

Sherman Road NW begins at NW 137th Street and goes about 625 feet to the south, where it turns into Northshire Road NW.

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Frazier Place NW

This street, originally Sound View Place, was created in 1920 as part of Frazier’s Addition to King County, Washington, filed by Raymond Robert Frazier (1873–1955) and his wife, Augusta Wood Frazier (1874–1969). Raymond was president of Washington Mutual from 1915 to 1933 and its chairman from 1933 to 1941.

Frazier Place NW begins at NW 132nd Street and goes just over 300 feet north to NW 134th Street.

Raymond R. Frazier, circa 1931
Raymond R. Frazier, from The Town Crier, September 26, 1931
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E Olin Place

This street was created in 1925 as part of the O.W. Harris Addition, filed by Olin Whitney Harris (a car dealer) and his wife, Lily Georgine Robson Harris. (Their son, Whitney Robson Harris, a University of Washington graduate, was one of the prosecutors at the Nuremberg Trials as an aide to Robert H. Jackson, chief prosecutor and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Harris was the last Nuremberg prosecutor to die, in 2010. The Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis and the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law are named in his honor.)

E Olin Place, which is shaped like a 7, begins at 15th Avenue E north of E Garfield Street and heads 1⁄10 of a mile northeast, then west, to 15th Avenue E south of E Howe Street. Louisa Boren Park is to its east, and features a grand view of Montlake, Union Bay, Laurelhurst, Lake Washington, the Eastside, and the Cascade mountains.

View of Union Bay and Lake Washington from Louisa Boren Park, March 2013
View of Union Bay and Lake Washington from Louisa Boren Park, March 2013. Photograph by Orange Suede Sofa, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
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Haraden Place S

This street, created in 1910 as part of the Beacon Hill View Addition to the City of Seattle, was named after Colin B. Haraden (1864–1950), secretary of the Elliott Bay Investment Company.

Haraden Place S begins at Carkeek Drive S between 39th Avenue S and 40th Avenue S and goes around 450 feet north to S Cambridge Street.

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S Dean Court

This street, created in 1946 along with S Vern Court as part of the Wm Culliton Addition, was named by Jules Vern Nadreau (1894–1979) and his wife, Geraldine “Dean” Mable Harvey Nadreau (1897–1958), after Geraldine’s nickname.

S Dean Court begins at Beacon Avenue S and goes 285 feet west to an alley.

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S Vern Court

This street was created in 1946 as part of the Wm Culliton Addition, filed by Jules Vern Nadreau (1894–1979) and his wife, Geraldine “Dean” Mable Harvey Nadreau (1897–1958). It appears to have been named after Jules’s middle name, Vern. (My assumption is that he was himself named after French novelist Jules Verne.) Its sister street, 300 feet to the south, is S Dean Court, named for his wife.

S Vern Court begins at Beacon Avenue S and goes 275 feet west to an alley.

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Elliott Avenue

Elliott Avenue, which originated as Water Street in A.A. Denny’s 6th Addition to the City of Seattle, filed in 1873, received its current name in 1895 as part of the Great Renaming. It was named for Elliott Bay, which was itself named for Midshipman Samuel Bonnyman Elliott (1822–1876), part of the United States Exploring Expedition, otherwise known as the Wilkes Expedition. (Even though for years people thought the bay had been named for Chaplain J.L. Elliott, Howard Hanson makes a convincing argument in “The Naming of Elliott Bay: Shall We Honor the Chaplain or the Midshipman?”, an article in the January 1954 issue of The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, that the honor belongs to the midshipman.)

Elliott Avenue begins at Western Avenue and Lenora Street and goes 2⅕ miles northwest to halfway between W Galer Street and W Garfield Street, where it becomes 15th Avenue W.

Looking south down Elliott Avenue W at W Mercer Place, August 1921, from https://archives.seattle.gov/digital-collections/index.php/Detail/objects/25558
Looking south down Elliott Avenue W at W Mercer Place, August 1921. Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives, Identifier 1862
Looking northwest up Elliott Avenue W from the W Thomas Street pedestrian bridge, August 2015. From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elliott_Ave,_at_3rd_Ave_and_Thomas_Street,_Seattle.JPG
Looking northwest up Elliott Avenue W from the W Thomas Street pedestrian bridge, August 2015. Photograph by Dllu, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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Renton Avenue S

This street is named after the city of Renton, Washington, located southeast of Seattle at the southern end of Lake Washington. The city was itself named after Captain William Renton (1818–1891). Born in Nova Scotia, he came to the Puget Sound area in the mid-1850s and founded the Port Blakely mill on Bainbridge Island in 1864. Erasmus Smithers founded the Renton Coal Company with Captain Renton’s financial backing in 1873 and filed the first town plat in 1875.

William Renton, 1818-1891
William Renton, 1818 – 1891

A Renton Avenue existed in Seattle before this one, but not for very long — it was established in 1894 from streets on Capitol Hill “now called in various portions thereof Black Street, Joy Street, Renton Avenue and Eighteenth Avenue.” (Part of this area had been platted by Captain Renton, and was known at the time as Renton Hill.) It was changed the next year to 16th Avenue as part of the Great Renaming.

The current Renton Avenue was established in 1907 from what had been an old county road, Simpson Avenue, Hillman Boulevard, and a number of unnamed streets. According to the North Rainier Valley Historic Context Statement, this is quite an old route:

King County Road No. 1 ran east down from Beacon Hill at about the location of today’s Cheasty Boulevard, and then followed the approximate line of today’s Renton Avenue South to Renton. It also had been an earlier Indian trail route. Renton Avenue South is the remnant of this original county road to Renton. While portions of this road still exist, some are now incorporated into Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.

Today, Renton Avenue S begins at Martin Luther King Jr. Way S just south of S Walden Street and goes ¾ of a mile southeast to 33rd Avenue S just north of S Alaska Street. It resumes at 35th Avenue S just south of S Hudson Street and goes another ½ mile to S Juneau Street west of 39th Avenue S. It then starts up again at Martin Luther King Jr. Way S and S Webster Street and goes nearly 3 miles to the city limits south of S 116th Place. (Renton Avenue continues beyond there another 2 miles to — of course — Renton, where at 90th Avenue S and Taylor Avenue NW it becomes the Renton Avenue Extension and goes a further ⅛ of a mile to Rainier Avenue S and Airport Way.)

Metro bus at S Norfolk Street and Renton Avenue S, May 2010
Metro bus at Kubota Garden, S Norfolk Street and Renton Avenue S, May 2010. Photograph by Flickr user Oran Viriyincy, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic