The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is proud to announce a new addition to our Most Endangered Places list: the Yakima Valley Trolleys, which operate between Yakima and Selah. Built in 1907, the Yakima Valley Trolleys are regarded as one of the last intact, unmodernized example of an interurban electric railroad left in the United States. The Yakima Valley Trolleys began as a streetcar system in the City of Yakima until purchased in 1909 by a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad, which operated them until 1985, when they were donated back to the city. In 1992, the Yakima Valley Trolleys were named to the National Register of Historic Places - NPS, and a nomination to designate the Yakima Valley Trolleys as a National Historic Landmark (National Historic Landmarks Program) is currently in development. In 2023, the Yakima City Council adopted a plan to rebuild 6th Avenue downtown, which includes a section of the trolley tracks. Project designs include options to retain the rail lines and overhead electrical system, but the council is also considering an option that would remove a portion of the tracks situated along 6th Avenue. If the tracks are removed, trolley cars would no longer be able to operate between Yakima and Selah, and the Yakima Valley Trolley line would cease to be truly “interurban” in nature. On Tuesday, June 17, the Yakima City Council will make a final determination on the Yakima Valley Trolleys’ fate when they meet to decide upon the 6th Avenue design options to pursue moving forward. The Washington Trust joins community advocates and local organizations who have come out in support of preserving the trolley tracks, including the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Association of Yakima (Downtown Yakima), Selah Downtown Association, Selah Chamber of Commerce, and Yakima Historic Preservation Commission. 🚋 Learn More: https://preservewa.org/yakima-valley-trolleys-named-to-washingtons-most-endangered-places-list/ #historicpreservation #mostendangeredplaces #localhistory #communityadvocacy #washingtonstate #historiclandmarks #yakimawashington #preservationmonth #preservationmonth2025 (fb)

HOW MANY CHILDREN HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF YAKIMA'S SANTA TROLLEYS AT CHRISTMASTIME? Santa has been our partner for many decades. Visits from the jolly old elf will soon become a thing of the past if the Yakima City Council decides to remove the trolley tracks from 6th Avenue. The 6th Avenue tracks connect Yakima with Selah and are necessary for the YVT railroad to survive. Our Pine Street line alone does not pay the bills. Our riders want to go to Selah through scenic Selah Gap, and if we are permanently cut off from Selah, the railroad will wither and die. Yakima's trolley railroad is on the cusp of becoming a National Historic Landmark. That distinction is almost like being a National Park but it depends on our being an interurban railroad (Yakima to Selah and back). There are federal grants available to National Historic Landmarks which we would no longer be eligible for if we were no longer an interurban. We would lose our listing on the National Register of Historic Places, which we have had since 1992. Our contribution to Yakima's tourism would disappear. Approximately half of our riders come from outside of Yakima. Many come from Australia, Germany, England and Japan just to name a few. And Santa would just have to fly his sleigh somewhere else at Christmas. If you feel that the trolleys are a worthwhile part of Yakima's cultural fabric, please let the City Council know! Council meetings are held every Tuesday evening (check for times because they vary between 5:00 and 5:30). There is a period set aside at every Council meeting for public comment. Take your kids along! Let them tell the Councilpersons how much they like seeing Santa on the trolley every year. If the Council decides to keep the trolley railroad, good things are in store for the trolleys. The Selah connection will be restored, the National Park Service will help YVT become a proud National Historic Landmark like San Francisco's cable cars, the new trolley car being restored in Snoqualmie will join the fleet, and funding for future projects will become available. This could include extending the track to the Yakima Valley Museum only a few blocks from the present end of the line, to the Civic Center in Selah, or to the historic district around Yakima's Front Street. Looking ahead, the YVT corridor between Selah and Yakima could double as a transit corridor during the week and bring in loads of federal grants, reduce exhaust emissions, and provide speedy transportation for commuters between Yakima and Selah. Yakima's heritage is intimately tied to the YVT railroad. Yakima's first mayor and all round eastern Washington notable, Jack Splawn, was YVT's founding president. Yakima's enormous fruit output grew by leaps and bounds because of the convenience provided by the YVT railroad lines spreading into the valley. YVT has run continuously for the past 118 years, and still uses some of its original streetcars and locomotives. And it has provided a way for countless kids to visit personally with the man in the red suit and white beard. There is so much good with the YVT railroad, and so much potential that it would be a sorry shame indeed if the City Council did not think it is worth preserving. KJ (fb)