"Waterland" community is ready and willing to fight about it

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Des Moines residents pride themselves on their close ties to the water, even when they spark some feisty discussions. A sculpture and a marina are cases in point.

One of the main entrances to this town features a statue of a fisherman and a giant salmon.

"Big Catch" was sculpted a few years ago by Richard Beyer, best known for "Waiting for the Interurban" in Fremont. Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce and city officials expected a statue of a man embracing a salmon. What they didn't expect was that the salmon would have large breasts and that the happy fisherman would be just inches away from grabbing them.

"It was a bit of a surprise," City Manager Bob Olander says of the salmon's human attributes. "I think it is humorous and delightful, but there are some people who don't like it."

The statue rankled a number of residents.

"Some people got very bent out of shape by it," says former mayor and Boeing computer whiz Richard Kennedy.

Most residents, however, kept their sense of humor. The statue still sits in the plaza at the north end of Des Moines, a reminder that it is a recreational paradise.

Saltwater State Park, Redondo Beach Park, the Des Moines Marina, Des Moines Beach Park Ñ all are just minutes away.

Newspaper accounts of nearly 40 years ago refer to Des Moines as the "Geoduck Capitol of the World." Now people are lured by fishing, crabbing, shrimping, shellfish gathering, boating, swimming and sunbathing. It is not for nothing that Des Moines is frequently referred to as the "waterland" community.

The marina, which opened in 1970, is the town's focal point and has acted as the catalyst for area development. With moorage for 838 boats, it was built after a court fight that reached the state Supreme Court.

A King County Superior Court judge temporarily blocked the project, saying it was too big for a city that, at the time, had only 3,000 residents. But city officials appealed to the state's highest court and got the go-ahead.

Richard Kennedy, the former mayor, credits the marina with revitalizing Des Moines, and says "it provided a real focal point for the community and an identity it lacked." And he says it taught Des Moines residents that they can accomplish major tasks when they pull together.

Redondo residents have shown a similar feistiness in their battle over the main roadway through their waterfront neighborhood just north of Federal Way.

A severe winter storm heavily damaged a half-mile section of Redondo Beach Road in 1990, sparking what became a six-year fight over closing the road and turning the area into a park.

King County officials rejected the idea and recently reopened the road. But residents ended up with a new boardwalk.

Continued:

• City by the water has kept its traditions despite growth
• The debate over tourists: Love 'em or leave 'em?
• Historic growth from sawmill origins to a diverse suburban melange
• The highway's byways that no one really wants to talk about
• A lot of young outlooks in a city favored by retirees