Around the corner of Harbor Avenue SW and Spokane Street SW there was a number of interesting sights to share with you.

The Alki Trail curves out of the cement bridge jungle onto a tree-lined avenue.  Behind all that pretty area is a rail yard which has steel mill slag, old rail cars, a pile of gravel and what used to be a large recycling company.

You know I like to share my experiences from the past around a particular site. If you look at the red building and how it is right up against the railroad.  That is where in the early 70s I went with a friend of mine from the Pike Place Market where I sold crochet bathing suits.  He had heard that in the road bed was some sort of crystal or rock he wanted to make jewelry out of. There was no fence then and we just went behind the buildings and started digging around in the dirt. Chain link fences now surround all of this area and there is no free style digging these days.

Rail Yard near Harbor Avenue

Railroad cars between T-5 and Harbor Avenue

Piles of dirt and old scrap yard

Is this a slag yard from steel mill?

To the north of that intersection I got some views of the river mouth and Seattle. Times have changed at this intersection too. We used to drive from behind the Chelan Café to come out at Harbor Avenue. It was a bit of risky drive since right before you got to the intersection you had to pass through an old lumber mill with railroads and  overhead conveyors.

This is now the Superfund site called Pacific Sound Resources or formerly the Wyckoff West Seattle Wood Treatment Plant that dated back to 1909. From the clean up the Port has created its Terminal 5 and for us a park called Jack Block. The intersection was a busy place when cruising in our cars was hot. The small store was always busy and a boat dealer made a living there for years too.  That has all passed now and most have forgotten that you could cut through what now looks like a driveway.

From that area near the entrance to Jack Block Park I turned around and went back the way I had come. Along this corridor that most people think is pretty and use for exercise both biking and running I found more homelessness.

See the building behind the RV?  That is King County Waste Water.  They had some really good art on it.

A relic of anther time caught my eye as I walked back.  It was an old tow yard abandoned.  It was surrounded with chain link fencing to keep the towed cars safe. A hole in the fence gave access to a phone booth.  That is a dying breed of communication.

Right at the busy intersection of Harbor and Spokane there was a homeless tent. Most folks just zip by and probably don’t even notice.

There is also a private kitty shelter that helps find homes for homeless cats.

To see more of my Duwamish Adventure I have a directory post that links all of the pieces together.  You can find that post here – My Duwamish Adventure Directory