1949 Map of Des Moines

About this map

The Seattle Tacoma Airport stands as a massive geometric landmark at the center of this 1949 landscape, surrounded by the rapidly developing neighborhoods of south King County. To the west, the coastline along Puget Sound is dotted with seaside communities like Seola Beach and Secoma Beach, while the interior shows the dense grid of Burien and Sunnydale beginning to consolidate. The eastern edge of the map is defined by the industrial and transport corridor of the Duwamish River and Green River, where the Union Pacific Railroad and Great Northern Railway converge near Tukwila. Local life in the mid-century is captured through features like the Drive-In Theater near Zenith and the numerous small lakes, including Angle Lake and Bow Lake, which provided recreation for residents before the full expansion of the neighboring suburbs.