Federal Grant Bringing Walking Tour to Fourth Avenue And Downtown Core

As part of a on Fourth Avenue North, the city of Edmonds applied for and has received a federal grant from Preserve America to create a self-guided walking tour.

The tour of downtown is focused on a loop along Main Street and north on Fourth Avenue North to the and back on Fifth Avenue North to Main Street.

The federal money, which Preserve America grants through National Park Service, is part of a nationwide program to make heritage tourism a part of economic development. The Downtown Edmonds Cultural Heritage Tour is a $48,000 project, with half of that coming from the grant and half from the city and private funding.

A public meeting will be held June 2 at 7 p.m. at , 201 Fourth Ave. N. Residents, property owners, and interested community members are invited to learn more about the project and share their ideas.

The Heritage Tour Project is part of a larger city initiative, the Fourth Avenue Cultural Corridor Plan, which itself is part of the Edmonds Streetscape Plan of 2006. The goal is to add continuity and identity in public spaces through new design elements and standards by making streets and public thoroughfares more attractive, safer and more convenient. 

In 2007, the National Parks Services’ Department of Interior awarded Edmonds a matching grant to create the Fourth Avenue Cultural Corridor Plan.

“This new project is part of the importance of highlighting the connection between Edmonds Center for the Arts and downtown retail,” said Frances Chapin, cultural services manager. Fourth Avenue North leads directly north to the Edmonds Center for the Arts.

As part of the project, the city will put out a call to artists to create informative, interpretive signage and markers along the loop, highlighting community history and personal stories.

Additional information is being solicited from the public.

“What we’re really looking for is getting community involved in the project by telling us their stories,” said Chapin. “Do you have stories or photographs you would like to share?  Did you ever go to the doctor’s office on Fourth Ave North (now Semantics Art Gallery) or the dentist on Bell near Fourth? Did you graduate from Edmonds High School when it was on Fourth Avenue North or hear stories from your grandparents about life in downtown Edmonds when they were young?”

Selected examples will be incorporated into new signage and put in the Edmonds Museum’s permanent collection and on the Heritage Tour’s upcoming Web site.

“We want to provide visitors and residents both with something fun to do,” said Chapin.  “We feel this will be of great interest.”

The Heritage Tour Project is funded by Preserve America, the city of Edmonds, the Hubbard Family Foundation, and the Arts Festival Foundation. The City Arts Commission, City Historic Preservation Commission, Historic Museum, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation and Edmonds Conference Center/EdCC are also helping with the project with in-kind donations and through other avenues. 

For more information, go to the Edmonds Arts Commission Web page or call 425-771-0228.