Who Remembers the Old Cabins at Juanita Beach?

The attached photo from the Kirkland Heritage Society is marked simply “Juanita Beach cabins, 1932,” but it is a wonderful illustration of the 90-year history of the area as a recreational location.

The waterfront here was formally opened to the public in 1921, after a broad sandy beach was left by the lowering of Lake Washington by 8.8 feet in 1916-17 when the Ballard Locks were built.

The Forbes family settled the area in the 1880s, and the new beach quickly became a local attraction. So Leslie Forbes and family started a resort. By the 1930s, Juanita Beach Resort and Park featured a bathhouse with swimsuit and boat rentals, a plank walkway, lunch counter, small grocery store, open-air kitchen, swimming dock and cabins.

In the 1930s the resort hosted as many as 2,000 people a day, many coming from Seattle. King County acquired the property in 1956 for a park, which was transferred to the city of Kirkland in 2002.

Today the beach portion of the park is closed for a complete modernization, featuring a new commons area and plaza, beach promenade, walking trails and a wetlands area adjacent to Juanita Creek. It is scheduled to reopen this summer.

For details about the history of Juanita Beach, see the city of Kirkland’s Web pages and an essay on historylink.org.