5th and Main Intersection Audio Tour • Edmonds Historical Museum

Welcome to the heart of Edmonds where past and present intersect. See how the center of Edmonds has developed over the past century through photos and personal stories.

Jim Otto’s Meat Market in 1902 on what would become the Southwest corner of 5th Ave and Main Street intersection.

West Main Street looking east in early 1909 (before the fire of July 8th, 1909). Pictured are Jim Brady’s Law Office, Sunflower Shoes, Kingdon General Merchandise, Edmonds Hardware Company, T.A.A. Siegfriedt Lawyer, Edmonds Drug Company, and the steeple of the Congregational Church.

Intersection of 5th Ave and Main Street in 1912. Pictured on the left is the Engel Building built in 1904 and across the street is Edmonds Otto’s Meat Market, Sherrod Brothers Hardware & Furniture, the Beeson Building, and Edmonds Cash Store.

West Main Street in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s. The one story brick building on the right was constructed in 1926. On the right side of the street is Skagg’s United Store, Hubbard Real Estate & Insurance, and the Princess Theatre. On the left side is Up-To-Date Grocery, Chancellor Cigars, and Puget Sound Power & Light in the Beeson Building.

Pictured is a WWII scrap metal drive in the center of 5th Ave and Main Street, around 1939-1945. The sign reads: “Aluminum for defense.”

Intersection of 5th Ave and Main Street looking west in 1960. The Princess Theatre is playing “Hercules Unchained” and “Young Jesse James.”

Christmas tree around the fountain in 1978

The fountain at the intersection around 1994. Behind it is the L’escargot Restaurant.

Community Transit trolley around 1994 at the intersection

Gazebo located at 5th Ave and Main Street in the summer of 1998. It was built by the Lifetime TV movie crew and given to the city.

Transcript

The intersection of Fifth and Main has been the epicenter of Edmonds for over one hundred years. At the beginning of the 20th century, the main roads converged here and the daily traffic made this area a perfect place for stores and businesses. Horse-drawn carriages gave way to cars. The dirt was covered with gravel and eventually cement. Local bands performed in the 1920s, the town’s Christmas tree was placed here, and scrap metal drives dominated the space during World War II. Gary Crymes has childhood memories of the spot. “I can remember coming down on my bike and looking and seeing metal bed frames stacked up, all kinds of metal bed frames. Then they finally came in and got it all picked up. Boy, I tell ya, it was something.”

The roundabout seen today was constructed in the mid-70s, and local artists Ed Ballew and Howard Duell were commissioned to create an abstract copper fountain, which was installed in the center. However, a motor accident demolished the fountain in 1998, and the spot was briefly taken up by a white wooden gazebo built for a Lifetime TV movie set. Afterward, another local artist, Benson Shaw, was tasked with creating a new fountain, called “Cedar dreams.” The public art project also included street paving, benches, and the surrounding sidewalks. In 2006, the fountain was damaged once again by a car accident but was reconstructed in true Edmonds spirit.

Many of the buildings on the corners have been redeveloped, but the others hold structures almost a century old. The brick building that houses a Starbucks was built as a commercial and residential structure in 1924 by a local businessman and eventual mayor, Fred A. Fourtner.

Take a look down each street and check out all the local businesses at the heart of Edmonds!