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This small building, constructed in 1918, is one of the Junction's
older structures, but has been altered many times. It is associated with
development of the West Seattle Junction business district. The building has a
wide variety of food markets from at least 1928 until the 1980s. In 1937 it
housed a small produce store, the West Hill Market, which had large doors
opening up to the sidewall so those passing by could see the produce. At the
rear, the structure was two stories with a machine shop on the lower level. It
currently has a Mexican restaurant, with a modern façade and a decorative red
tile roof.
The Junction, West
Seattle's primary commercial district, acquired its name in 1907 when a new
street car line on California Avenue SW was extended south to Fauntleroy Park,
crossing the Admiral streetcar line at SW Alaska Street. West Seattle, incorporated
as a city in 1902, had built the Admiral line--the nation’s first municipally-owned
streetcar line. At first, the Junction was just a swamp with a few real estate
offices, but in 1907 West Seattle voted
to be annexed to Seattle. Enhanced transportation and new amenities,
accompanied by heavy promotion, encouraged a real estate boom, with new
residents rapidly buying lots and building homes. Jefferson School opened in 1912,
and had to be expanded in 1917. The 1920s brought significant growth, with major
stores such as Ernst Hardware, Bartell Drugs, a J. C. Penney department store
and two "five and dimes"--Woolworth's and Kress. Although development
slowed during the Depression, the proximity of defense industries brought many
new residents during World War II. The
Junction thrived into the 1950s with several modern retail buildings and larger
stores. By the 1980s, however, competition from shopping malls made the
Junction's stores less competitive. J.C. Penney left in 1987 and many other retailers
selling common items such as clothing closed, generally replaced by
restaurants, bars and service businesses. In 1985, a large retail/office/residential
project was built on the former site of Jefferson Elementary School. In the
early 1990s, the City of Seattle adopted a comprehensive plan that focused
growth in "urban villages," including the Junction. By 2010, numerous
single-story buildings were being replaced by six-story mixed-use structures with
underground parking, significantly changing the district’s character.
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