Seattle: 1900-1920 -From Boomtown, Through Urban Turbulence ...

46 Part Onethe shore between Bailey Peninsula (upon which Seward Park is now located) and MadisonPark, where John J. McGilvra’s Madison Street cable car line terminated; the peninsula andpark were to be connected by a boulevard. The assistant city engineer, George Cotterill,would help realize this plan. He was also the head of the Queen City Good Roads Club andmobilized volunteers to construct twenty-five miles of bicycle paths.Guy Phinney sold Woodland Park, which he had acquired and platted in 1887,to the city in 1900 for $100,000. Three years later the park inherited Leschi Park’s zoopopulation, after the Seattle ElectricCompany found the Yesler cable carline, which terminated in the park, nolonger profitable enough to operate thezoo. Harry Chadwick speculated that thecompany hoped to profit from carryingzoo-goers to Woodland Park.The commissioners alsopurchased Washington Park in 1900.At its south end the park bordered theMadison cable car route and so was easilyreached. Summer cottages began to dotthe shores of Lake Washington betweenMadrona Park and what is now MountBaker Park. Above the beach at MadronaPark, a small piece of virgin rain forestlaced with footpaths had been preserved.A hotel and a boat launch added to thepark’s recreational facilities; the hotelburned down in about 1910. NearbyLeschi Park was an amusement parkfeaturing a six-story casino that had beenbuilt in 1892, and the casino’s owner,theater magnate John Cort, diverted someof his downtown vaudeville fare to it. ItsBefore trolleys reached the beaches of West Seattle in1907, one either caught the West Seattle Ferry at thefoot of Marion Street or a small steamer for a quickertrip directly to Alki Beach. In the hottest days ofsummer the beach was crowded with swimmers whowere served lemonade, ice cream, and sandwichesfrom decorated stands. Bathhouses competed inthe swimsuit rental business. The oldest of the threescenes grouped here is of young men and boys posingon Alki Beach in 1902. Five years later the great wideand illuminated dock of Luna Park opened over theshallow tideflats off of Duwamish Head. From itsrides and varied amusements the West Seattle ferryterminal on Harbor Avenue was an easy five-minutewalk.