A short, two-stage multi in one of the lesser-known neighborhoods of West Seattle.
The neighborhood
Prior to construction of the current bridges, Riverside was the first neighborhood travelers to West Seattle would enter after crossing Harbor Island. It served as a major junction for transit lines, which branched from here to the other neighborhoods on the peninsula. At its north end near the bridge, Riverside featured a business district with a hotel, restaurant and several grocery stores. The hotel primarily housed single men who worked at the nearby canneries and sawmills. Most of the business district was torn down for construction of the current high bridge.
This description of the Riverside neighborhood comes from the memorial marker in the plaza:
This marker and all the stones in this plaza are dedicated to those young immigrants who, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, left their homelands with a vision to establish their families and fortunes in a distant land.
These early settlers of Riverside were mostly from Croatia, a region of the Austrian Empire, later known as Yugoslavia. They joined with other ethnic groups to form bonds of friendship that transcended the multicultural barriers of this Riverside community at the mouth of the Duwamish River.
Many of these immigrants were skilled fishermen, who for years had plied the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas. Riverside’s location offered what they were seeking – the closeness of their own kind who spoke their native tongue, moorage and repair facilities for their beloved boats, storage for their nets and gear, and crew availability – all within walking distance from the homes they built on the high ground. Within a short time, they built a fishing dynasty in Western Washington.
Here, at Riverside, they raised their treasured families. Their wives produced dishes of salmon from their nets and fresh vegetables and herbs from their own gardens. Autumn wine making was carried on annually, with a friendly tasting competition to decide whose wine was best.
By the 1990s, the Croatians had all but disappeared from Riverside. Their prosperity had scattered them to the far corners of the larger community. Their needs had changed. The salmon runs had dwindled. English was the language of their children. They worked and married their ways into the fabric of American life.
The paving stones in the plaza replicate the streets and lots of the Riverside community. The names of the settlers are at the locations of their homes.
For more neighborhood history and some excellent archival photos, see Paul Dorpat's "Coming Home to Riverside".
The cache
The posted coordinates bring you to a plaza memorializing some of the early settlers in the neighborhood. You must locate four paving stones and obtain information from them to get the coordinates to the final.
First, go to the south end of the plaza and find the stone dedicated to San Francisco 49er great Visco Grgich, who was raised in Riverside and attended West Seattle High School. Let A = the first number in the two-digit YEAR of his death (12-26-A5).
Next, locate the stone for the house of Nigel Day & Joseph Smith, toward the middle of the plaza. Let B = the second digit in the STREET number (3835 1BTH AVE SW).
Now go to the "docks", along the southeast side of the plaza. Find the stone for the boats owned by Louie & Steve Urlevich. Let C = the number of boats they owned ("C BOATS").
Finally, locate the stone for John A. Kaloper, which is toward the north end of "18th Ave SW". Let D = the final digit in the YEAR of his death (200D).
As a check, the sum of A+B+C+D should be 12.
Have a seat and fill in the numbers to find the coordinates for the cache container, which is located at:
N47° 34.ABC W122° 21.ADB
The final is within a half-mile of the posted coordinates; that location is open dawn to dusk and parking is available within about 100 feet. Both stages should be fully handicap-accessible, although reaching for the container could be a slight challenge depending on your dexterity. Use the hint and spoiler photo if you're having trouble making the find, and be sure to re-hide in the same manner as you found it.