THEN & NOW: Peter Kirk's "Fir Grove"

Peter Kirk, the man for whom this town is named, came to America in 1888 with his wife Mary and their seven children, and built this home just above today’s Waverly Way in 1889.

An expert in the milling of iron and steel, he came with grand dreams that were never realized, but left plenty of things that remain tangible today. The name Waverly Way is one, and the brick Peter Kirk Building on Market Street, now home of the , is another.

But unfortunately, this fabulous structure, which he called Fir Grove, is not one of them. After Kirk's death in 1916, the house was acquired by the Burke & Farrar real estate company, which tore it down and used the material to build two houses on the spot.

Fir Grove was built by John George Bartsh, who also built the Shumway Mansion, the first Central School and the first Rose Hill Elementary.

The two old photos here are now in the archives of the  -- which uses Fir Grove as its logo -- and were taken some time between 1889 and 1916, the actual dates uncertain.

The fact that the site, perched on the bluff above Lake Washington, was a prime one for a home is proven by the fact that is still hosts homes -- see the “Now” photo taken last week.