Alki Beach has long been a popular recreation spot in the Puget Sound region. Originally a favorite campsite for Duwamish Tribe, it became known as the birthplace of Seattle when the Denny Party landed there in 1851. They called this settlement "New York Alki," a reference to the hope that it would grow to become an important city ("Alki" is a Chinook word meaning, roughly, "by and by" or "someday"). Eventually the "New York" was dropped, but the name "Alki" remains. Upon installation of ferry service in 1888 the area became a popular Sunday outing for Seattleites. By 1902, the beach was so popular that it became the destination for a new electric street railway line from Seattle.
This view of the beach was taken shortly after the city created Alki Beach Park in 1907, consisting of 135.9-acres of the Elliott Bay beach between Alki Point and Duwamish Head in what is now Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood. The park's .5 miles of beach front was the first public salt-water bathing beach on the west coast.
Handwritten on verso: Parks - Alki Beach, 1908-09
ID Number: 1973.5695.1
Date: Circa 1908
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 3.5 x 5.5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
