Where do you get your groceries?

I usually drive to Burien as it is a straight shot up the hill on Hwy509 to several of my favorite stores. Sometimes I go over to Queen Anne from the office job in Belltown and pick up a few things from one of the usual "supermarkets".

photo courtesy Tim O'Brian

Did you realize in 1934 there were over 20 grocery stores in the Georgetown area? One of my favorites is the Bee Hive Marketeria. You just have to love that name - and there was not just one but two - located at 6001 12th Avenue South and 4125 Airport Way South.

Inside the Bee Hive

I got to talking with the owner of the 9lb Hammer last week and he informed me that the building plans he saw for his space was also for the Bee Hive Market (but in the 1920's) with the loading dock on Airport Way and the main shopping area where we now find the MIX.

Looks like I will be headed back to the library and looking at the 1920 Polk directories.

Country Inn Roadhouse

photo courtesy of MOHAI

Roadhouses were popular meeting places around the turn of the last century and Georgetown had plenty of roadhouses. With the Meadows racetrack a short walk away from these rough and tumble waterholes it is no wonder the popularity.

Usually found in two story buildings immediately fronting the sidewalk, patrons would find gambling, drinking and dancing on the main floor while rooms for rent were found upstairs. Often "working girls" would continue to entertain overnight guests.

In 1911, Prosper Casteran and his wife Mary moved into the old roadhouse and opened the Carleton Avenue Grocery. It seems Casteran already owned the building and may have lived in a residence which stood on the northeast corner of the property. The 1908 Polk directory lists his address at 807 Monroe (now known as Warsaw). That building is now gone, but the foundation can still be found on the property.

A few reminders of the past have been found in the old roadhouse, an electrical inspection certificate dated 1906, a small stencil set, and an old Rainier beer bottle. After taking the old carpet out of the main living area in one of the upstairs apartments, the original floor plan was uncovered. You can clearly see where the old hallway would have shuttle patrons to the rooms and into the waiting arms of one of the "working girls".

The Country Inn Roadhouse saw plenty of action over the few short years her doors stood open (1904-1909). Today, she is the last remaining example of a roadhouse from the early years of Georgetown.