People who don't think of Tukwila, Wash., as a real place may be
astonished to learn that on Tuesday, Jan. 8, the Seattle suburb
will kick off its centennial celebration. Known primarily as the
site of the Southcenter shopping mall, Tukwila has actually been
incorporated since 1908. Originally, the Black and White rivers
came together there to form the Duwamish, which then meandered
north through a broad floodplain, spread out in a vast estuary,
and finally emptied into Elliott Bay. Now, the White has gone
elsewhere, the Black has gone, period, and, instead of a place
where rivers combine, Tukwila has become the place where
Interstate 405 joins Interstate 5. People farmed the Duwamish
and Green river valleys back in 1908. There was already a
Tukwila post office. The old electric interurban streetcar
between Seattle and Tacoma stopped there. (Now, Sounder commuter
trains stop there, and next year, Tukwila will briefly become
the southern terminus of Sound Transit's new Link Light Rail
system.) The first non-na