Eastrail NE 8th St Crossing

Recalling the roots from our past, telling silenced stories, and recognizing the harms that were done here are necessary to create our flourishing future.

Project Background:

Isan Bellevue became aware of the King County Eastrail project to create a 42-mile multi-use trail on the Eastside. This trail converts the former Northern Pacific Railroad (later Burlington Northern Santa Fe) line that connected Bellevue to a nationwide freight network.

In Bellevue, at the site where the Eastrail intersects with the new Wilburton Light Rail Station, a building of significance to the Japanese American community was removed so that the light rail project could proceed. Just north of the NE 8th St. bridge crossing where the Sound Transit station is located was the site of original Bellevue Vegetable Growers Association packing house. Built by Japanese American farmers in the 1930s to support them as they shipped their produce to destinations around the country, it was in use until the families were forcibly removed from their homes in 1942.

Prior to 1942, Bellevue was home to 60 Japanese American families and over 300 people (among a total Bellevue population of slightly less than 2,000), who farmed more than 472 acres of land.  

A project was initiated to integrate a Japanese American heritage component in and around an overpass where the trail crosses NE 8th St. The project purpose is to commemorate the site of the former Bellevue Vegetable Growers Association packing house and to tell the broader story of the Japanese American farming families.

Two planning charettes were conducted in the fall of 2019 to support development of an artistic/interpretive element at the NE 8th St. bridge crossing. Participants were members of the Bellevue Japanese American Legacy Project Steering Committee and advisory group, community partners, artists, staff from King County Parks, City of Bellevue, 4Culture, and design firms involved in the projects.  

Two areas of the project emerged as zones which offered the most opportunity for interpretation: the North Mixing Zone on the northern-most edge of the project, and the Bridge Span which runs across NE 8th Street. Interpretive design for these sites was led by EDX Exhibits, Seattle.

Project Goals:

By telling the story of the JA farming community in Bellevue, we:

• strengthen the connections between the Japanese American community and other communities,

• see Bellevue’s vibrant farming history in today’s modern metropolis,

• plant the seeds of reconciliation across generations, and

• honor stories of the past today, and for the future.