Transportation laid foundation for suburb

By DON CARTER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Shoreline's history and development were closely tied to transportation.

Its first neighborhood, Richmond Beach, grew overnight with the coming of the Great Northern Railroad tracks between Seattle and Everett in the 1890s. Hotels, a dance hall and other amenities served vacationing Seattleites, and farmers began planting strawberries and fruit trees.

The Interurban's electric trolleys reached Ronald in 1906. The Ronald station, near what's now the intersection of Aurora Avenue North and North 175th Street, made it practical for commuters to get to and from their Seattle jobs. Judge James Ronald, mayor of Seattle in 1892-93, was a major property owner in the area and donated land for the Interurban station and the nearby Ronald School.Just east of Aurora near 175th is a curving, brick-paved road -- the last remaining segment of the North Trunk Road that in 1914 brought motorists to the area.

In the 1920s, developers lured prospective commuters to Shoreline with the very latest in amenities -- dirt roads and electricity -- as well as comfy terms. You could buy a building lot for $5 down and $1 a week.

Post World War II development brought thousands of new families, plus a name for the newly unified school district that touted "good schools." In a 1949 contest, "Shoreline" was selected because the district, which then stretched from North 85th Street to the Snohomish County line, was bounded by miles of Puget Sound shoreline to the west and Lake Washington shoreline to the east.