Early Bellevue Walking Tour

Thanks to a tip from my friend, Paula, I went on a one-hour "Early Bellevue Walking Tour" this afternoon! It was hosted by The Eastside Heritage Center and was really terrific.

It turns out that Bellevue doesn't have any kind of historic preservation laws, so many of the older, historic buildings around this city have been torn down as the city as changed. It's really a shame. Most of what I see in Downtown Bellevue is very new, with very little historic interest. There were even two 100 year old plus structures that we saw today that will be torn down within the next few months to make way for new construction.

I learned a lot about my new city today. We met at the Downtown Bellevue Park, where I regularly walk every morning. I learned that it was once the site of the Overlake Elementary School. Actually, before that it was strawberry fields owned by the Warren Family. Downtown Bellevue Park was built in the early 1990s. The design included a concrete outline in the middle of the grassy field where the elementary school used to be.


Downtown Bellevue Park, with the cement outline of where the elementary school used to be.

I also learned that three of the trees in the center of the park are called the Memorial Trees. In 1920, the Bellevue Minute Women planted three elm trees in honor of three Bellevue citizens who served in World War One. One of the elm trees is smaller (and a fourth tree is not an elm, and was not one of the Memorial Trees). This is a replacement tree after one of the original elms came down in a storm in 2006.


Memorial Trees


Memorial Trees in the center of the park

We passed by a building that was once a Baptist Church, built in the early 1900s. It is currently serving as one of two buildings of Bellevue's Boys and Girl's Club. Unfortunately, this building will also be torn down (in addition to the larger and newer Boys and Girls Club building next to it) for a newer design.


The old Baptist Church which is currently being used for the Boys and Girls Club of Bellevue

We walked along Bellevue's Main Street, and saw the sites of where many of Bellevue's original buildings stood. (the original school, general store, private homes, etc., Most of these have long been replaced with gas stations, restaurants, office buildings, etc.,

The last building we saw is the shop on 102nd Ave. SE. It dates back to 1918. The building is currently being used as an office for the jeweler whose shop is in front of it, on Main Street. Unfortunately, the same owner plans to level the building to build new construction (still using it as an office).


the building on 102nd Ave. SE which will be leveled soon.

What really struck me during today's tour is how little history is actually left in the City of Bellevue. It's such a shame that there aren't any laws protecting these historic buildings.

The tour I went on today was a shortened tour, meant to be done during the lunch hour. The Eastside Heritage Center will offer another tour in August that will be 2-3 hours, and will cover much more ground. I enjoyed this one so much that I'll try to attend the next!