The small city, where officers once wore wide-
brimmed hats, and the City Council members
served without pay, still feels like
a small private community.
For the History Buffs
Just months after Seattle
became a city in 1853, a Swedish immigrant rowed a small boat up the coast in search of land to farm. Attracted by the
lush maples and evergreens, salmon-filled streams, verdant hills and sandy beaches,
William H. Brown laid claim to 163 acres. Other settlers followed and claimed nearby property, and by
the time Brown died and deeded his land to his son in 1875, there were enough
families with young children to fill the classroom at Sunnydale School, located
in what is now Burien.
Many sold out in the late
1880s to the Schwabachers, a family of San Francisco speculators who were in
the wholesale business and operated a hardware and dry goods store in Seattle.
The Schwabacher’s bought land from early pioneers in the Normandy Park area to
make a 1,700-acre parcel of beachfront and mountain view land.
When the Schwabacher’s
finally negotiated to sell their parcel to the Seattle-Tacoma Land Co. in 1928,
the asking price was more than $1 million. The price didn’t faze the Seattle
entrepreneurs who ran the land company. They envisioned a south shore suburban
community of brick homes built in the French Normandy style of architecture.
From the Seattle PI
The Sales Pitch
A Normandy Park sales
brochure from 1929 advertises the new city developments:
“Spacious
lots for each home … a view of the Sound and Olympic Mountains from
practically every lot … avenues that curve to natural contours … an
expansive community beach … an attractive and commodious club house where community
groups may meet socially.”
Education
Normandy Park’s proximity offers the unique opportunity to choose from many public schools within the Highline School district, as well as local private schools.
Local Neighborhood Favorites
The local-essentials that Normandy Parkers just can’t seem to live without…
Comments
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Click here to log in.Too bad it’s sandwiched by Burien, Federal Way, Sea-Tac and White Center. Diamond in the rough I guess. It’s also sort of a pretentious name, but I don’t blame the city for that.
I wish I remembered Seattle better, but I haven’t lived there since I was five. Maybe one day I’ll move back and explore!