PARKS, RECREATION & CULTURAL ARTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Take a trip in the transit time machine

Visit the Heritage Park Open House for a trip through the past, present and future of transportation. 

LYNNWOOD, WA (July 29, 2015) - Lynnwood’s Heritage Park open house event continues this Saturday, September 5 from 11am – 3pm. Take a break from the parades and cookouts and join us for a ride on the Transit Time Machine for a view of transportation's past, present, and future.

The Past: Explore Heritage Park's restored Interurban Car 55 which provided commuter service from Everett to Seattle. History buffs will enjoy the historic buildings and museum exhibits showcasing Alderwood Manor and early Lynnwood.  

The Present: Check out a Community Transit Double Tall Bus and lean about the variety of transportation options available today. Get info and ask questions about current routes, developments, and options for getting around Snohomish County. 

The Future: Planners from Community Transit will be available to discuss the future of service -- from the future Swift lines to expanded service and much more. There will also be information and displays on the upcoming Sound Transit Link Light Rail project that will connect Lynnwood to Seattle and beyond. 

The park, located east of I-5 at the SE corner of Poplar Way and Alderwood Mall Parkway, is a cultural, heritage and visitor resource. The open house events offer a unique opportunity for park visitors to tour the various historical structures including Interurban Car 55 that have been preserved at the park. 

Open House activities include: 

• Climb aboard a Community Transit Double Tall Bus and learn about the future of transportation in Snohomish County. 
• Tour guides, Jeanne and Gary Rogers, will entertain visitors with tales of Car 55, one of six Interurban trolleys that ran between Seattle and Everett from 1910 to 1939.  Jeanne grew up in a railroading family; her father, Walter Shannon, was an Interurban motorman.
• Docents from the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association will be available to provide guided tours of the exhibits currently on display in the Superintendent’s Cottage and at the Wickers Building Museum. 
• Stop by the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau’s Visitor Information Center where you can walk through the historic Wickers Building Museum and view the City of Lynnwood Historic Timeline exhibit. 
• Visitors are invited to take a peek into their personal genealogical history at Humble House with the assistance of the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society. 

School Supply Donation Drive: 

The Snohomish County Tourism Bureau will be hosting a school supply donation drive at the Visitor Information Center in the Wickers Building. The donation drive will kick-off at the open house and continue through the month of August. Donated supplies will benefit the Sleep Country Foster Kids Program that provides much needed school supplies to foster kids in the local area. To donate, bring your new item to the Visitor Center sometime in the month of August. Donation items can include: 

• Paper: lined, copy, construction, spiral notebook, composition notebook, index cards
• Pencils & Pens: blue, black, #2 pencils, colored pencils, erasers, pencil sharpener, pencil case, crayons, highlighters, dry-erase markers
• Things you can never have too much of: tissues, sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer

About Heritage Park

The centerpiece of the park is Interurban Car 55, a static display representing Lynnwood’s transportation heritage. Car 55 is one of six Interurban electric rail cars that provided commuter service from Alderwood Manor to Seattle and Everett from 1910 to 1939. The Interurban was key to the development of Alderwood Manor. City folks traveled to this area by the Interurban and were encouraged by the Puget Mill Company to purchase 5-acre tracts of logged-off land and learn how to raise poultry for profit.  After the demise of the Interurban in 1939, Car 55 was retired, serving as a diner for several years and later as a ticket office for the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad.  The City purchased the deteriorated trolley in 1993 and began its restoration with a federal grant. Contributions can be made to the “Car 55 Project” to complete the trolley’s restoration.  

In 1919, the Wickers Building was the first grocery store and post office on North Trunk Road in Alderwood Manor (now 196th Street SW in Lynnwood), and a familiar landmark half-way between Seattle and Everett to passengers on the Interurban. The exterior of the Tudor Revival-style building has been carefully restored preserving its distinctive features. The Wickers Building is now a museum and home to the South Snohomish County Visitor Information Center.  

The superintendent’s cottage and water tower are the last remaining structures from the 1917 Demonstration Farm. The cottage has been renovated by the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association and is a community heritage resource center. Future plans are to rehabilitate the water tower as a functioning water tower to provide irrigation for planned demonstration gardens. 

For more information on Heritage Park, visit: www.ci.lynnwood.wa.us/PlayLynnwood/Parks/Heritage-Park.htm

About Lynnwood Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts

Our mission is to create a healthy community through people, parks, programs and partnerships. Lynnwood’s state-of-the-art Recreation Center attracts visitors from the greater Puget Sound region and is the hub of the department’s operations. Our parks system includes 17 parks, over 100 acres of open space, 14 miles of trails, a Senior Center and an 18-hole public golf course. To learn more, visit www.PlayLynnwood.com.   

About City of Lynnwood

Incorporated in 1959, Lynnwood is the economic hub of South Snohomish County. Situated at the convergence of interstates I- 5 and I-405, Lynnwood’s accessibility, variety of housing and employment options, colleges and outstanding park system attract a wide variety of businesses and residents. For its diverse population of more than 36,000, Lynnwood is a great place to live, work and play. Lynnwood Moving Forward: Our Community Vision – the City will be a regional model for a sustainable, vibrant community with engaged citizens and accountable government. Lynnwood is…a great deal more!

Contact:
Sarah Olson, Deputy Director
Lynnwood Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts Department
solson@ci.lynnwood.wa.us
425-670-5503

Heritage Park, 19921 Poplar Way, Lynnwood - Free Admission: 

• South Snohomish County Visitor Information Center: 1919 Wickers Building, Alderwood Manor’s first general store and post office, open daily, 425-776-3977, www.snohomish.org
• Wickers Museum: 1919 Wickers Building, 2nd Floor, open daily, 425-670-5503, www.PlayLynnwood.com
• Heritage Resource Center: 1917 Superintendent's Cottage from Alderwood Manor Demonstration Farm, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, 11 am-3 pm, 425-775-4694, www.alderwood.org
• Genealogy Research Center: 1919 Humble House, park site’s original residence, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, 11 am - 3 pm, Sundays (May 26-Sept 1), 11 pm-4 pm, 425-775-6267, www.rootsweb.com/~wasigs
• Interurban Car No. 55 Tours:  1909 Seattle-Everett interurban electric rail car tours on first Saturdays (June-Sept), 11 am-3 pm.  Group Tours available from Oct-May by appointment , 425-670-5503, www.PlayLynnwood.com

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