Whee!

If voters have their say this fall, a third alternative may be in the works for Seattle's aging waterfront viaduct, which turns 53 this week. Rather than widening the structure or tearing it down, a new proposal was announced on April 1 that would eliminate half the lanes, providing enough room to extend the Seattle Center Fun Forest Roller Coaster all the way to West Seattle. Dubbed the "Scream Line," the coaster's tracks could also be extended to Crown Hill, along a previously planned route.

"Commuting through Seattle is too frustrating," says thrill-ride advocate Tom Fullery. "So why not make it fun? Who wants to be stuck in traffic when you can be whipping around the loop-the-loop that's planned near Safeco Field?" Funding for the project would come from ticket sales, and as Fullery points out, "Once people get home from their commute, they're just going to want to hop back on and ride it again." Other funding will come from hot dog and cotton candy stands at each station.

Some worry about the incessant calliope music that will be heard throughout downtown Seattle, but others note that the city will look "really cool" when it's lit up at night. If the plan makes it onto the ballot this fall -- and voters approve -- we might see even more changes in the offing, including log-plume rides in the Metro bus tunnel and bumper-car decks for all ferryboats.

Whoa!

Kidding aside, the week of April Fool's does mark some actual Seattle transit anniversaries. On March 31, 1899, the first electric streetcar took to the streets and was an immediate success. The people of Seattle officially took over operation of the city's streetcar lines on April 1, 1919, but the date of the deed should have given somebody pause. It soon turned out that Seattle Mayor Ole Hanson had paid a grossly inflated price of $15 million and accepted disastrous terms to acquire the private system from the giant utility cartel Stone & Webster, which had gobbled up all local streetcar lines by 1900.

City officials scrapped the system in 1941 despite the expressed wishes of the electorate. But on April 1, 1957, the Washington State Highway Department established an office for clearing the route of the Seattle Freeway, known today as Interstate 5. The highway was completed between Everett and Tacoma in 1967, although some Seattleites objected to the drastic changes made to their neighborhoods.

Looking Backward, Moving Forward

Starting Points: On April 1, 1852, Nicolas Delin began building a sawmill for what would become the first white settlement on Commencement Bay. Exactly 16 years later, promoter Matthew McCarver arrived on the scene, and became instrumental in the development of Tacoma. Not to be outdone, Washington's fifth largest city also celebrates an anniversary this week. On March 31, 1953, the city of Bellevue incorporated, although its history extends much further into the past.

Founding Fathers: On April 3, 1852, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (not Jesuits, as some books erroneously assert) founded the Saint Joseph's Mission at Ahtanum Creek in the Yakima Valley, and began irrigating the land with the help of local Indians. The settlement was abandoned three years later during the Yakima Indian War, but was revived when peace returned.

House Mothers: Seattle Children's Home, the city's oldest charity, got its start on April 4, 1884, as The Ladies Relief Society. The organization's first orphanage was built on the south side of Queen Anne Hill on land donated by Seattle pioneers David and Louisa Denny.

Path Finders: On April 4, 1853, Island County held its first Commissioners' meeting, wherein they accepted Colonel Isaac Ebey's petition for construction of a road from Ebey's Landing to Coveland on Whidbey Island. Ebey, one of the earliest surveyors of Puget Sound, helped plan the road four years before he was decapitated.

Plain Speakers: Populist presidential contender William Jennings Bryan stirred local crowds railing against imperialism, corporate trusts, the gold standard, and other nefarious evils on April 2, 1900. Another champion of the little guy, Charlie Chaplin, started a run at Seattle's Empress Theatre on April 1, 1912.

Lost Souls: On March 30, 1915, newspaperman and historian Thomas Prosch, his wife Virginia, artist Harriet Foster Beecher, Emily Carkeek, and Margaret Lenora Denny -- daughter of Seattle founder Arthur Denny -- were traveling back from Tacoma after a meeting of the Washington Historical Society. As they approached the Riverton Bridge south of Georgetown, the driver of Carkeek's car swerved to avoid two children. The vehicle plunged into the Duwamish River, and only Carkeek and her driver survived.

Ghost Ship: On April 4, 1923, the sailing ship Fresno caught fire in Bellevue's Meydenbauer Bay and was totally destroyed. The burnt hulk was towed into Lake Washington, loaded with gravel, and sunk. The vessel might have lain there forgotten, if not for survey work done in 2003 in preparation for a second SR-520 floating bridge.

Coast Ship: On April 5, 1943, Kaiser shipyard in Vancouver launched the Alazon Bay, the first of more than 50 escort aircraft carriers built by the firm during World War II. Vancouver's other important roles during the war included military training and aluminum production.

Paper Trails: Thirty years ago this week, David Brewster, Dick Lilly, Roger Downey, the late Darrel Oldham, and colleagues rolled out the first edition of The Weekly (now Seattle Weekly). More mainstream than the defunct Helix and short-lived Seattle Flag, the Weekly coexisted with the leftish Seattle Sun, which in turn launched The Rocket. It was intercepted by The Stranger, which now vies with Seattle Weekly for the title of Seattle's leading "alternative" weekly.

Water Levels: Twenty years after the completion of Ross Dam on the Upper Skagit River in 1949, plans were underway for High Ross Dam, which would have flooded portions of British Columbia. Canadians were less than thrilled, and after much negotiation the Skagit River Treaty was signed on April 2, 1984, to prevent such an inundation.

Reel On, Columbia: Theatergoers in Longview were delighted when the Columbia Theatre opened for business on April 4, 1925, but more than 50 years later the venue was in danger of being torn down. Oddly enough, the building was saved by the eruption of Mount St. Helens, which caused the demolition contractor to leave for other jobs in southwest Washington, and gave citizen activists enough time to rally support.

Rock On: By 1991, Seattle's modern rock music scene was the darling of the global music industry -- an overnight success just 15 years in the making. After the suicide of Kurt Cobain on April 5, 1994, the media bubble burst, and music critics began looking elsewhere for the "next Liverpool." Nevertheless, the Northwest music scene continued to persevere, although the death of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley in 2002 carried a tragic synchronicity when he accidentally overdosed on the anniversary of Cobain's suicide.

Quote of the Week

Groucho: Well, I'm sorry the matter even came up. All I know is that it's a viaduct.
Chico: Now look ... all righta ... I catcha on to why-a-horse, why-a-chicken, why-a-this, why-a-that. I no catch on to why-a-duck.
Groucho: I was only fooling. I was only fooling. They're going to build a tunnel in the morning. Now, is that clear to you?
Chico: Yes. Everything -- excepta why a duck.

--The Marx Brothers, Cocoanuts

Image of the Week

The farmland around Wenatchee is well known for its excellent harvest.