Rainier Beach was a popular summer retreat when the photo at right was taken in 1915. O'Hara's boathouse, store and dock could be reached by streetcar.

Harry Patterson, left, was the captain of a ferry that ran from Rainier Beach to Renton and Kennydale. He's shown here in 1920 talking with passenger Homer Bateman on the deck of the launch.

Rainier Beach's population started to grow after World War I and boomed after World War II. The Rainier Beach Fuel Co., left, is shown in the early 1920s. The store, at Rainier Avenue and 51st Street, was also the stop for the streetcar, with a bench for waiting passengers located on the porch.

The "crew" poses for a group photo in front of Taylor's Mill in 1906. The Rainier Beach lumber mill was owned by Sanford Taylor. He's on the far right, third row from the bottom.

The Montera Pharmacy, at the southeast corner of Rainier Avenue and 57th Street, sold everything from analgesics to ice cream. The picture above was taken in 1909.