Olde Burien not forgotten as city pushes forward

Originally published Saturday, April 4, 1998

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Burien's history is a rich one, dating to the time when Native Americans were the only residents; many of their walking trails still exist in the area.

Among the earliest non-Native American settlers was German-born Gottlieb Van Boorian, who built a cabin on the southeast corner of what is now known as Lake Burien in the 1880s. The city is named after him.

Early residents benefited from having a ferry stop at Three Tree Point. The mosquito steamboat fleet provided service both to Seattle and Tacoma.

That history hasn't been forgotten. An area known as Olde Burien -- near the intersection of Ambaum Boulevard and Southwest 152nd Street -- is home to Kirk's Feed Store, a popular Danish bakery, some antique shops and other businesses.

The Olde Burien Association is pushing for restoration of the area with new sidewalks, old-style lampposts and removal of the facade from some buildings to display now-hidden original brickwork.

The feed store already has the look of the past. Little has changed since Sylvan Kirk opened it in 1952.

Bales of hay and alfalfa are stacked in the barn and shoppers can buy chickens, ducks and rabbits or pick up seed potatoes and fertilizer from Kirk's son, Mike.

"There were around 50 feed stores in the area when we opened," says Mike Kirk, who started working in the store when he was 11. "One by one they closed down. Dad kind of held out until he was the only one left."

While Kirk enjoys running an old-time feed store, he's run into a modern-day problem. The county -- figuring he sells some of his chickens and rabbits as pets, especially at Easter time -- wants him to get a pet shop license. Kirk is resisting.

"They feel chickens are pets. I feel they are livestock," Kirk says. "I guess you can make a pet out of anything. But if it might end up as food on your table, I call it livestock."

The dispute remains unresolved.