Urban Sprawl

I grew up in a suburb of Seattle called Federal Way.Federal Way is named after an old highway that runs through town. In the 1980s, there was a movement to change the name of Federal Way to "Evergreen". Even then the idea was ludicrous given the urban-sprawl look of Federal Way.

In the early 1970s, the developers had not yet been given free rein to do as they please and Federal Way still had a few charms left. One of the most interesting attractions was a cluster of gothic-style buildings called "Olde European Square".

A few small shops were spread around a commons area and a sweeping outside stairwell led to a skating rink on the second floor of one of the buildings.

Roller skating was one of my favorite activities when I was a kid. It took  multiple bruises before I learned how to skate, but after that I went to the rink nearly every week.

On a night that I will always remember, I held hands with a girl I liked as we slowly skated around the rink.

The skating rink was closed in the late 1970s, but the gothic buildings remained until the 1990s when they were torn down and replaced with an electronic appliance store.