History

A five-acre peat bog at the north end of the future Twin Ponds Park was purchased for $1500 during World War II by Fred Anhalt, developer of landmark Tudor-Revival style apartments in Seattle in the 1920s-1930s. A map of all of his buildings can be found here. He had opened Anhalt’s Shur-Gro Nursery in 1942 where University Village is today, and needed a source of peat to sell at his nursery. Anhalt recalled he “…hauled hundreds of thousands of yards of peat…” out of the bog over the years. He later leased and then purchased two five-acre plots of land to the south from his neighbor, Andy Argus, to grow and store plants for his nursery. This additional land was once a marshy bog filled with cattails and frogs until it was mined for peat in the 1950s, partially filled in, and fixed up for growing crops.

Anhalt collected and bred a variety of plants on his property, from potted plants up to a few fifty-foot-tall trees, but specialized in rhododendrons, growing the largest variety in the Western U.S. He received regular offers from King County to purchase his land to become a park and he always turned them down. In 1971, the County decided to condemn his land to create Twin Ponds Park and told Anhalt they would give him a fair price for his land. Anhalt requested a trial by jury to determine what that price would be and a contentious legal battle ensued. King County had offered him $60,000 for his growing land and $15,000 for the peat bog, but the jury determined that his land was worth a total of $162,500 and awarded him another $124,000 for his nursery stock. Although the County purchased his high-quality nursery stock, they signed a contract with landscape architects to purchase all plants for the new park through them, so most of his plants went unused or were bulldozed during park construction.

A fascinating and entertaining biography of Fred Anhalt, "Built by Anhalt, a biography", was written by Steve Lambert based on conversations he had with Fred. It is available from the King County Library System and is a great way to learn about both Fred Anhalt and the history of Seattle.

1990: Twin Ponds Park had a playground, tennis and basketball courts, a soccer field, and an alder forest overgrown with invasive species such as blackberry, ivy, holly, and laurel. John Dixon began a volunteer effort to plant trees at the park and formed the Stewards of Twin Ponds Park, who devoted over 10,000 hours of volunteer labor over the next two decades, and inspired new volunteer efforts to continue restoration work today. John’s work enhanced the park in many ways: planting the Trail of Cedars and an arboretum with redwoods, giant sequoias, and other fragrant and ornamental plants, and replacing invasive plants with native herbs, shrubs, and trees. Today’s restoration volunteers work in collaboration with the Green Shoreline Partnership and focus on native plants. They have weekly work parties and are always looking for more volunteers!

2000: Several Eagle Scouts installed a foot bridge over a muddy isthmus between the two ponds, laid a graveled path to the bridge, and removed old fencing and barbed wire that was hazardous to wildlife.

2012: The basketball court was transformed into the Twin Ponds Community Garden. Eagle Scouts have since added a bat box and a compost bin. Each year 2,500 pounds of produce are harvested from the garden, some of which are grown by volunteers to donate to local food banks. Click here for more information on registering for a plot at the Twin Ponds Community Garden.

The Seattle-Everett Interurban Railway, which originally connected downtown Seattle to Ballard, was extended north through Shoreline in 1907, and to Everett in 1910. In Shoreline it ran along the west side of Aurora Avenue (then a two-lane brick highway known as North Trunk Road) up to 155th St. There it crossed to the east side of the road on the Pershing Bridge (at the location of the current pedestrian bridge over 155th St). At completion this railway spanned 29 miles with 30 mostly small stops along the way. The Interurban stop in the Parkwood Neighborhood was called Pershing Station and was just past 155th St, which was then called Pershing Road. Pershing Road/Bridge/Station were named for WWI General Pershing. 

Passengers had to wave or, at night, use a light to alert the motorman to stop for them. The trains carried passengers from 5 a.m. to midnight, and then hauled freight including lumber and produce overnight. The train reached a top speed of 60 mph and had large, luxurious, and ornate cars with a separate smoking room.

In the summer, the train was used for day trips to Woodland Park, the Playland Amusement Park in Bitter Lake, and the Snohomish County Fair. During World War I the railway also transported troops between Seattle and Everett.

Interurban service ended on February 20, 1939 due to the economic pressure of the Great Depression and the growing popularity of cars, trucks, and buses. On top of all that, in the late 1930s, the City of Seattle had begun removing rails and overhead wires that the Interurban Railway depended on as they converted the city’s streetcars to electric buses. 

Segments of the Interurban rail line still exist today as the Interurban Trail.

To learn more about the Interurban Railway and to view a restored Interurban Car #55 visit Heritage Park in Lynnwood. More information is also available here and here.