Greater Renton

Greater Renton

The tours of greater Renton cover North Renton, Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, and the Cedar River Trail head and park.

The tour highlights some of the most famous businesses to call Renton home, including PACCAR and Boeing.

15. Seattle Car and Manufacturing

Location

North 4th and Factory

Tile 15 Seattle Car and FoundryA disastrous 1907 fire in the blacksmith shop and lumberyards of the Seattle Railroad Car and Manufacturing Company at Youngstown turned out to be fortuitous for Renton.

Following the disaster, the company's owner, William Pigott, decided to move his young company to the 120 acres of land he had purchased in north Renton. After the move to Renton, Pigott expanded manufacturing to include all types of railroad rolling stock needed for the logging industry. In 1917 the company merged with Towhy Car Shops of Portland, Oregon, and became Pacific Car and Foundry.

During WWII the plant produced a total of 926 Sherman tanks. In 1945, the company acquired Kenworth Motor Trucks and, in 1958, Peterbilt Motors. In 1972, Pacific Car & Foundry merged into PACCAR, Inc.

18. Carnegie Library

Location

Bronson Way NE and Liberty Park Entrance

Slide number 18 Carnegie LibraryNeva Bostwick moved to the Earlington neighborhood of Renton soon after it was platted in 1906. She was a serious student who had made extensive use of the Seattle Library.

After moving to Renton, she discovered the town only had a small lending library. Residents did not think it was possible to build a library in a small coal mining town of fewer than 4,000 people. Miss Bostwick, however, wrote to the Carnegie Foundation for information, found out how to get a grant, and received the necessary forms. A committee of interested citizens was formed and, after much research and consultation, a $10,000 grant was received.

The Carnegie Library was built in 1914 on land donated by Rafael Sartori near to the current downtown library is located.

20. Shuffleton Steam Plant

Location

Lake Washington Blvd, NW Corner

Slide #20 Shuffleton Steam PlantIn the fall of 1929, Puget Sound Power and Light Company began operating the first 40,000 kilowatt generator, the Shuffleton Plant.

The plant's turbo-generators ran on "hog fuel" (waste wood fiber from sawmills) with its oil burning boilers to be used only during emergencies. Within a month of firing the boilers up for the first time, the Great Depression engulfed the nation and the plant was never completed as designed. Despite the Great Depression, Shuffleton was still needed as people continued to buy electrical appliances, read under electric lights, and enjoy electric streetlights.

In the early 1950s, the plant was placed on stand-by, and by the 1970s, the crew thought every emergency run would be the plant's last. In 1989 Shuffleton was fired up for the last time during the severe winter storm called the "Arctic Express". The plant was demolished in 2001 to make way for a development at the south end of Lake Washington.

22. The Boeing Airplane Company

Location

Cedar River Trail, near Nishiwaki Lane and North 6th Street

Tile 22 the Boeing Airplane CompanyThe Boeing Airplane Company has been involved in the Renton community since 1922, when Boeing began using the northern end of Renton Field as the hub of the world's first international air mail service, ferrying mail between Puget Sound and Victoria, B.C.

The connection strengthened on the eve of World War II with the construction of a major factory that produced 1,119 Boeing B-29 bombers for the war in the Pacific. In the 1950s Boeing and Renton ushered in the jet age with the decision to build the world's first successful jetliner, the Boeing 707, in Renton.

In 1960 the Renton plant began work on the Boeing 727, the most successful jetliner in the world. Boeing has relied on its employees and the Renton community to help it become the largest aerospace company in the world. In 2001, 40-percent of the commercial jetliners in the air began on the Renton assembly line.

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