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Diamond S Ranch NE 24th Street to NE 20th,
This ranch like development was conceived and built by developer Louis Schafer. In the late 1940s, Schafer traded a home in Bellevue for the 30-acre Ike Bechtel Ranch. At this time, the ranch was considered to be out in the country, although it is just one mile from downtown Bellevue today. Because of poor soil suitability for septic tanks, the 30-acre development had to be divided into lots of one acre or larger. Schafer coined the name Diamond S for the development to make it sound distinctive. He decided to retain the character of the Bechtel Ranch throughout the development for marketing purposes. At this time it was possible to ride a horse from the Diamond S Ranch to Bridle Trails Park in Kirkland without encountering an automobile. Schafer built ranch style homes to owner's specifications on the 16 lots he created. Most of the houses were built between 1949 and 1951. He also constructed a trail and ranch style fences encircling the development. The Diamond S Ranch relates to the study unit theme of community planning/development. |