Ring-a-ding ding. Happy birthday to one of Seattle’s quirkiest Seattle transit services: the South Lake Union Streetcar .
The electrified train first started rolling this week in December 2007 from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to McGraw Square .
While the Light Rail and Metro often get all the glory, we thought we’d explore a little history behind the streetcar on its 15th anniversary
— including a long-running inside joke.
- It was the first line Seattle launched since the city stopped using the streetcar system in 1941
- It runs on electricity rather than the horse-drawn versions wayyyy back in 1884
- The South Lake Union Streetcar line covers 1.3 miles and includes seven stops.
- Though the official name never had the word “trolley” in it, many Seattleites opted to call it the S.L.U.T. — hey, we love an innocent, but dirty-sounding pun. (Bags of Dick’s, anyone?)