Everyone on the island goes through this intersection at some time or another, and many of us go through the intersection multiple times every day. One of the things that makes this intersection iconic for islanders is the lack of a “proper” red-yellow-green stoplight. Islanders take pride in the fact that there are no “real” stoplights on the island, only the four blinking red lights at Burton, Sound Food, Center and Vashon Town. But it was not always that way.
The main intersection in Vashon Town was anchored by the Gorsuch Building (now The Hardware Store Restaurant) built in 1890 on the southwest corner, the Vashon State Bank (now U.S. Bank) built in 1912 on the northwest corner, the Weiss Building (now Vashon Landing) built in 1928 on the northeast corner and the Kimmel Building (now Herban Bloom) built in 1927 on the Southeast corner.
The photograph from 1913 is Vashon State Bank, which was founded in 1909 and moved into its newly constructed building in 1912. It was a sturdy building, with its doors opening onto the intersection — designed, as many banks were at the time, so that if the bank were robbed, the police would have clear lines to shoot at the door from anywhere in the intersection.
Vashon State Bank was purchased by People’s National Bank in 1956, and in January, 1959, People’s announced that it would build a new bank and add a parking lot at the site of the old bank.
The photograph from 1961 shows the Vashon State Bank building being demolished to make way for the new parking lot on the corner, while behind it stands the recently-constructed new bank that is still in use today. Behind the new People’s National Bank building is the home of Therkel Hanson, original owner of the Vashon State Bank, which was removed; its removal created the open space where the Village Green is today. Also visible on the horizon are the peaks of the Olympic Mountains.
Also of note is the red-yellow-green stoplight in the center of the intersection. The traditional stoplight was installed on July 17, 1959, and took some getting used to. The island sheriff remarked that there was some “wrestling over the sophistication of the new red, green and yellow traffic signal.” Islanders were slow to catch on, so the sheriff agreed to give folks a couple of weeks to adjust before ticketing those who did not stop.
Islanders have always been an independent lot and not always willing to abide by the rules. The stoplight remained at the intersection until 1965, when it was removed and replaced by a single blinking red light.
The 2015 photograph shows the main intersection as it is today. People’s National Bank was purchased by US Bank, which still operates in the same building and has access through the “new” parking lot. The Hanson house is gone, and trees have grown to obscure the Olympic Mountains. And, in the middle of the intersection hangs a single red blinking light, which has grown to represent the rural small town atmosphere that so many seek on the island.
— Bruce Haulman is an island historian; Terry Donnelly is an island photographer. They say they are looking forward to doing the next 50 Time&Again articles.
