A SLICE OF BEACH HISTORY
In 1902, prominent Seattleites William and Gladys Bernard began making plans for a permanent home on Alki Beach. The couple had spent several summers camping on the beach with their children and wanted to enjoy its beauty year-round.
Two years later, they moved into their new log home which they named the Fir Lodge. Unfortunately for them, in the early 1900's West Seattle proved to be too inaccessible to Seattle to stay there for long, so after three years, they moved back into the city. Fortunately for us, however, their legacy remains today.
Over the years, the Fir Lodge has been a members-only club for the Seattle Auto and Driving Club, a boarding house, a veteran's home and, most recently, a popular neighborhood restaurant. In 1995, the lodge's carriage house and stables were purchased by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. After restoration, the house reopened in 1997 as the Log House Museum.
In addition to its on-site exhibit that features everything from turn of the century photographs to a 1916 whiskey bottle discovered in the home’s foundation, the Log House Museum offers a number of educational resources for local schools.
The Heritage Education Trunk Kits, for example, are collections of authentic and reproduced artifacts, documents, maps, and photographs, supplemented by lesson plans and activities relating to the landing of the first white settlers and their interaction with local Native Americans.
Complementing the kits is the museum's resource library, which contains a comprehensive collection of research material for students and educators alike.
For information on the tour or the resource materials available for rent, contact the museum at 206-938-5293.