Community spirit is blossoming

By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A stronger sense of community spirit is taking root in this town of 1,270 residents. A new group is looking at ways to spruce up the pedestrian look and feel of downtown and helped get old-fashioned looking street lamps installed on Central Avenue. A community mural is in the works to add a splash of color and interest.

Downtown's appeal is largely linked to its waterfront, where a new overlook and walk is planned. The tangy smell of saltwater wafts up from the beach and mixes with car exhaust from the ferry dock backups.

Because changes have been minimal over the years, Kingston residents sense what the area was like when the first wave of white settlers came ashore above Appletree Cove more than 100 years ago.

The Kingston Hotel, which opened in about 1890, still represents one of downtown's more interesting buildings. Judith Weinstock and her staff run an inspired restaurant, producing wonderful baked goodies and a changing menu of considerable diversity. Ravioli, blackened salmon and tamales recently beckoned from a chalkboard. It is not unusual for patrons to walk on a ferry in Edmonds and come over for dinner, she says.

Upstairs, her husband, David, operates a jewelry studio. A room at the front offers unobstructed views of the shipping lanes. The couple lives in nearby Indianola and shares 18 acres with friends. Nine houses are clustered on four acres, with the remainder in a land trust.

"Kingston is a beautiful little town that reminds me of Winslow in the 1970s, when there were a lot of bars and hamburger places, and you couldn't get a good cup of coffee," says Judith, who owned the Streamliner Diner on Bainbridge Island.

"Kingston is in transition. It's time to grow and stay healthy, and I think that's hard."

The pressures to grow are as tangible as the Seattle skyscrapers that seem startlingly close on clear days.

Continued:

• Town strives to keep it rural
• Residents split on whether growth is good