• Leading into Downtown, Commercial Avenue has been the main street of Anacortes since at least the City’s founding in 1891. The street was originally called P Avenue and was changed to Commercial Avenue in 1902.
• Commercial Avenue has changed in character over time to meet the demands of business and the emerging technology of the time.
• Commercial Avenue was originally a dirt road and later became a wooden plank road with a railroad track running down the middle as of 1890. (source)

Commercial Avenue, and the surrounding area south of 10th Street was considered a separate community from Anacortes until the early 1900s when the name of the area was changed from Nelson’s Addition to South Anacortes. To this day, Commercial Avenue between 3rd and 11th Streets is considered the Central Business District and the nature of the street is noticeably different.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the dominant form of transportation was walking, biking, and horse drawn carriages. Passenger rail also began running down the middle of Commercial Avenue in 1890. Ed Knapp’s Bicycle Shop, for example, was established in 1900 at Commercial Avenue and 7th Street. (link) horse linkbicycle photo

Commercial Avenue began to be paved in 1914. After the street was paved, the automobile began to gain in popularity. Public transportation also began running along Commercial Avenue around this time in large trucks called jitneys. (link) (Paving at Commercial and 13th) (1916) link This bus line, later called the South Side Bus, carried those living in South Anacortes below 12th Street into the commercial core of the city.

Commercial Avenue began to be paved in 1914. After the street was paved, the automobile began to gain in popularity. Public transportation also began running along Commercial Avenue around this time in large trucks called jitneys. (link) (Paving at Commercial and 13th) (1916) link This bus line, later called the South Side Bus, carried those living in South Anacortes below 12th Street into the commercial core of the city.

In the early 1920s, Commercial Avenue was paved, but did not have a painted centerline. Instead there were vertical dividers placed at intersections. (1922 photo) (link) 

In the 1920s and early 1930s, auto-oriented businesses began to appear along Commercial Avenue. From this point onward cars and public buses became the dominant forms of transportation. 

In 1937 the SR 20 SPUR was built, which provided a major connection for people driving into Anacortes to access the ferry. (originally named Primary State Highway 1)

A view of Commercial Avenue in 1946 with pedestrian-scaled lighting and a center stripe.

On September 21, 1958, the Highway 20 spur was opened between Sharpe’s Corner and Commercial Avenue in Anacortes.”

Commercial Avenue in the 1960s and 70s. Stoplights and a center turn lane became more common and pronounced. link includes two stoplights…1970s link stoplights and yellow center line 

From the 1950s onward, especially after the completion of the Highway 20 Spur in 1958, Commercial Avenue south of 12th Street became designed to accommodate motor vehicles through many wide lanes and auto-oriented businesses with large parking lots. 

In the Central Business District, Commercial Avenue between 3rd St and 11th St, was recently repaved to include buffered bike lanes in 2017, the street south of 12th has been largely unchanged in decades. 

Commercial Avenue has changed and will continue to change in the future.  We are now making our mark on designing the next phase of Commercial Avenue as a complete, multimodal street.