THEN AND NOW: Kirkland Street Improvement, 1910 Style

Most of us can only imagine what Kirkland must have been like back in the day when the streets were dirt -- or mud -- and feet, both human and horse, were the primary mode of transportation.

But we can get a sense for what it was like in great old pictures like this shot from the Kirkland Heritage Society archives, believed taken in 1910 or shortly before.

It shows what might have been the first official street improvement project in town -- the crew is preparing to put wooden planks over that muddy road, today’s Kirkland Avenue. The site is on the Ave’s south side, near its intersection with Lake Street, the heart of downtown Kirkland.

At the reins apparently is one Al Tillman, who went on to serve in World War I and later operated Kirkland Moving and Transfer Co. According to the 1910 federal census, Kirkland had 532 residents back then.

The building on the left, false front and all, was the Kirkland Livery Stable, later the home of the The Independent newspaper. The building burned in 1914. The building next the the team was a harness shop.

Today the site is occupied by the new Bank of America building. My how times change!