Yesterday, we asked you to guess where these brick buildings still stand today. Reader Pete L. and commenter nwelch were both correct: Aurora Avenue N and N 102nd Street.
Images: Seattle Municipal Archives, Google Maps While the pedestrian bridge on N 102nd St and Aurora Ave N used to lead the way to Oak Lake Elementary School when the overpass was first dedicated in 1961, the school closed after the 1981-1982 school year due to "declining enrollment and a deteriorating structure." They sure weren't kidding with the latter; on rainy days, it apparently took 14 buckets to contain the drops from the leaky roof.
Roy W. Morse, the city engineer at the time, wrote in a 1962 letter to the city planners of the future that the folks at the Department of Engineering "expect that aesthetics and utility of design will be achieved to the satisfaction of all." While the jury's still out on the city planning projects of the past couple of years, I like to think that Roy would be happy that his overpasses, like this and a similar one over Delridge by Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, are still in use.
Currently, this overpass carries pedestrians over Aurora Avenue to Oak Tree Cinemas and the surrounding open-air mall.
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