Des Moines Memorial Drive
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N 47° 27.767 W 122° 19.415
10T E 550979 N 5256815
Quick Description: This historical marker commemorates the 10-mile stretch of road South of Seattle where an American Elm tree was planted between 1920 and 1922 to honor each Washington State Soldier who lost his life in World War 1.
SE 1.9 km from your present location
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 3/25/2006 9:25:50 PM
Waymark Code: WM9EW
Views: 116
Long Description:
From the Des Moines Memorial Drive Corridor Management Plan: Des
Moines Memorial Way, a road located in the Highline area of south
King County, Washington, was established following World War I as a
living memorial to those who gave their lives in the course of the
war. Within months of the end of the war, the Seattle Garden Club
decided to transform a ten-mile section of the Highline Road, also
known as the Des Moines Road, into an American Elm tree-lined road.
The original plan envisioned the living memorial road to extend
from Seattle to Tacoma.
The Garden Club's decision, to dedicate a road and convert it into
a tree-lined avenue reminiscent of those of France, arose from the
desire to create a "living road of remembrance" that would both
honor and memorialize men and women from Washington State who gave
their lives in the recent war. In addition, they wished to
demonstrate community commitment to work for peace throughout the
world.
Funded by donations from individuals and organizations, the
“living road of remembrance” was completed by the spring of 1922.
Between 1922 and 2004 the memorial road has been cared for by
several organizations, with American Legion Post 134 in Burien
serving as the principle steward for over 60 years. The road's name
was changed to Des Moines Memorial Drive (DMMD) in 1984. Since the
first year, the memorial Elms began dying for reasons such as poor
soil preparation and inadequate watering. As the Highline area
experienced increasingly intense development throughout the
twentieth century the Elm-lined character of the road deteriorated
as trees were aggressively pruned or destroyed according to the
needs of road and utility work. In 1962, a granite memorial was
created midway on the corridor near the Sunnydale School. Many
Highline residents did not find the stone memorial an acceptable
substitute for the living trees, since the 1970s, there has been an
on-going effort to rehabilitate and restore the road to its
original status.