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1949 Map of Des Moines

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Des Moines
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1969
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1969

About this map

The growing shoreline of Puget Sound defines this post-war landscape, where the 1949 survey and 1968 revisions document the rapid suburbanization between Seattle and Kent. At the center of this transition sits the Seattle Tacoma Airport, which separates the coastal residential expansion in Normandy Park and Des Moines from the river-valley industries along the Duwamish River and Green River.

Evidence of established community life is found in numerous local landmarks, from the Foster Golf Course to the Covenant Beach Camp and Saltwater State Park. The map captures a complex transportation network including the Pacific Highway and multiple rail lines like the Northern Pacific RR, providing a detailed look at the infrastructure that supported the mid-century growth of neighborhoods such as Burien, Tukwila, and Riverton Heights.