One of the things my brother and I did during my week in Seattle, was to visit old neighborhoods and schools. My parents first bought a home in West Seattle in 1951, but moved into a bigger house in 1953. The house below is how it looked when my parents bought it. Our address was 5040 38th Ave. NE. I was three when we moved here, and my brother was born in 1954 and came home to this house. (My Dad and I roasted hot dogs in the fireplace the day he was born, so I have always remembered it.) 
Now, here is the same house as it looks today, with my 55 year old brother out front.
Now, here is the same house as it looks today, with my 55 year old brother out front.
The current owners have put in windows in the roof line, a very smart idea as I remember how hot those bedrooms were in the summer! This house is fairly close to the University of Washington on a very typical city block. We found a parking spot on the street and walked the whole block around, remembering neighborhood bike rides with all the neighbor kids, and fun games of hide-n-seek or tag we used to play through each other's yards.
Then we drove to the grade school we attended, Bryant School, and again got out and walked around the school and playgrounds. (Something you can do in the summer.) These old memories were lots of fun to remember together.
This is another view of the side of the school. The architecture of these beautiful old school buildings in the city are just wonderful, complete with street lamps. The windows above the bay alcove shows the class where I attended first grade. Every spring a seagull we nicknamed Gulliver would come back and live on the roof of that bay area. We would all bring leftovers from breakfast (his favorite was pancakes) to feed Gulliver...no wonder he came back every spring! I'm not sure how old seagulls live to be, but that same seagull came every year that I attended school there. I started kindergarten there at age five and stayed until I was eleven. My parents moved the year I started sixth grade, so we switched schools that year. Tomorrow I will show you our next school and house. This trip was such fun to do with my brother, it will be a very special memory.
2 comments:
What fun that your old house is in such great shape and that your grade school is still standing.
My grade school was torn down several years ago. So nice to see one that has been maintained and saved. Nancy
What a great post. I'm looking forward to the next installment. Trips like that are so much fun and very important.
Kathy
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