The Bavarian Village Of Leavenworth, WA

Earlier this year, MFI unintentionally ran across an Instagram short, which recommended a visit to Leavenworth, WA and highlighted the town’s Bavarian Village with attractive photos. I googled it, and we decided to make it one of our day-trips while wintered in Issaquah, WA. We love the real state of Bavaria in Germany and spent a significant amount of time traveling and sightseeing there during our 4-year Air Force assignment at Ramstein AB in the mid 1980’s. But I’ve gotten ahead of myself.

BRIEF HISTORY: Wenatchi, Chinook, and Yakima natives lived, fished, and hunted for centuries in the Cascade Mountain area around the confluence of the Wenatchee River and Icicle Creek. German and Swiss settlers homesteaded there throughout the 1800’s, traded with the tribes, and established a trading post in 1885 called “Icicle Flats.” In 1893, The Great Northern Railway was completed; and Captain Charles Leavenworth, Civil War Veteran and President of the Okonogan Investment Company, platted the city that same year and renamed it Leavenworth. Great Northern officials designated Leavenworth its District Headquarters and constructed its main rail switchyard there. A small dam was built on the Wenatchee River just south of town to create a mill pond for the new Lamb-Davis Sawmill, one of the largest in the country. Leavenworth was instantly a railroad boom town, and soon became a powerful timber center.

But the northern rail route through the Cascades was an extremely tricky and dangerous trek over Steven’s Pass, proved difficult to keep open in the winter, and turned deadly in February and March 1910. Fierce storms dropped 14 feet of snow over several days, followed by warm winds and an electric storm. Early on March 1st, an avalanche reported to be 2000′ wide, 2600′ long, and 14′ deep derailed and buried a passenger and freight train, both of which had been trapped for a week at Wellington, just east of Steven’s Pass Summit. The trains were destroyed, one-hundred-eighteen passengers and rail workers were killed, and the event became known as the Wellington Disaster.

This disaster was the beginning of the end for the sky-rocketing prosperity of Leavenworth. In 1922, Great Northern moved the district headquarters from Leavenworth to Wenatchee and rerouted its rail line south to bypass Steven’s Pass, as well as, Leavenworth. Without access to rail transportation, the sawmill closed in 1926 leaving Leavenworth without its primary economic contributors and turning it into a near ghost town for the next four decades.

In 1960, two friends from Seattle, Ted Price and Bob Rodgers, bought a failing cafe 15 miles west of Leavenworth on US Route 2. Bob had been stationed in Bavaria after World War II, and it was his love of Bavaria that attracted him to the Leavenworth area with its similar alpine setting. So when it came to redesigning the cafe, the partners agreed on a Bavarian motif. Their cafe, named “Squirrel Tree,” and a subsequent motel both became successful businesses. The men subsequently moved to Leavenworth and became deeply involved with the Chamber of Commerce and its dream to revitalize Leavenworth. Initially, there were two camps. The majority, who wanted to bring in an industrial partner, and a few followers of Ted and Bob who saw tourism as the way to new prosperity. After much lobbying, the Chamber was finally convinced of and committed to an economic pathway of tourism. But what theme would be developed to attract people? Again, two camps emerged, one touting the trains and timber of the “Gay Nineties,” and the other proposing a “Bavarian Village.” Thanks primarily to the persuasive efforts of Ted and Bob, “Project Alpine” was created and implemented.

Local property owners took out building renovation loans and community bonds were adopted to finance the needed changes. Two external architects with themed-renovation experience volunteered their time to develop and monitor design standards, and local skilled tradesmen donated their time to assist in the construction. Today, the village encompasses a 5 block area along Front Street including Front Street Park. While the population is only 2,347; it increases 10 fold during the 8 major festivals and 30 other events hosted annually by the Chamber. Leaventworth is second only to Seattle for most visited WA city, boasting between 1.5 and 2.5 million tourists each year. Fortunately, we visited in early November and were pleased to have avoided any crowds.

We strolled along Front Street to get a feel for what the village offered. There was plenty of Bavarian-themed retail shops, a fair number of themed hotels/motels, some coffee shops (a Starbucks of course with a cozy après ski interior), and enough restaurants to accommodate large crowds. The temperatures were cold, so we’d worked up an appetite by the time we reached the end of the village. We found a great Italian restaurant for lunch, had a glass of wine, and took time to warm our bodies before doing some shopping.

It was dusk when we returned to strolling the streets, and the evening light added a warmth to the village buildings and holiday-lighted park. The only thing missing was the crunch of fresh snow beneath our footsteps.

To our readers, we offer our humble opinion. If you’ve never been to Bavaria or experienced a european alpine village, then a visit to Leavenworth would be worthwhile. It definitely gives the appearance of being in Bavaria with its heavy wood materials, stuccoed exteriors with colorful murals, decorative woodwork, large roof overhangs, pitched roofs, and the occasional use of German on signs. We had looked forward to finding some authentic schnitzel, spaeztle, and red cabbage; but didn’t locate any. I asked our waitress at Visconti’s about this, and she said you had to come during one of the big festivals to enjoy German cuisine. Overall, we had a good time and reasoned the longterm success and sustainability of the village is due in part to its location. It is easily accessible on US 2 (only 2-hour drive from Seattle), has numerous nearby rivers and lakes for fishing and boating, is framed on three sides by the Cascades, sits within the trail-riddled Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and is only 35 miles from skiing at Steven’s Pass. As such, Leavenworth is an all seasons vacation get-away that just happens to have a Bavarian Village.

We drove back to Issaquah after dark, and when we crossed Blewett Pass (elevation 4,124′), darned if we didn’t run into a small snow shower. We hadn’t yet gone skiing on The Summit at Snoqualmie, but seeing snow really got our juices flowing.

Male member of the BunMack team. Happy to be Ms Fix It's lovely assistant on past and future projects. Maybe I'll learn some skills along the way. 69 years old when this adventure began, with expectations to help family and friends with their projects, see great sights along the way, and enjoy our life together.

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