‘Words, Writers & SouthWest Stories,’ a historically-based speaker series of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, is excited to announce that it is hosting Mike Bergman for a live Zoom presentation on Thursday, August 13 at 6:00 PM. Bergman will deliver a presentation entitled, “To West Seattle by Streetcar: 1916 to 1940.” Registration is required.
Bergman’s talk will explore the history of West Seattle’s streetcar system in the first half of the twentieth century, including its construction and the influence that the streetcar system had on the area’s development and growth. Showcasing numerous historic photos, Bergman will address the evolution of three segments of the West Seattle corridor: Youngstown (Spokane & Avalon to the bridge), the West Waterway bridge itself, and the elevated streetcar trestle between the bridge and downtown.
Mike Bergman was born and raised in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Geography. From an early age he was interested in Seattle transportation history, especially the city’s bridges, railroads and public transit systems. Mike joined a transit consulting firm shortly after graduating from the UW, and moved to King County Metro in 1980. At Metro, he worked as a transit service planner, project manager and communications specialist, and joined the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association (MEHVA). Mike took a new position at Sound Transit in 2000, where he produced the agency’s annual service plan and developed schedules for ST Express buses, Sounder commuter rail and Link light rail.
Following his retirement in 2016, Mike maintained a strong interest in local transit and transportation history. He is a volunteer at the Pacific Northwest Railroad Archive (PNRA), a non-profit educational organization developing a repository of Northwest rail history, including city streetcar systems. Mike has organized PNRA’s large collection of material on the Seattle Municipal Railway and has developed and shown powerpoint presentations on Seattle streetcar history to various community groups. He is the president of the Tacoma Chapter- National Railway Historical Society, and regularly contributes articles of local historical interest to The Trainsheet, the chapter’s monthly newsletter.
Registration is required. Registered participants will be emailed a link to the presentation on the date of the event. Please register for this event by filling out the form below:
