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Bereiter House LbNA #18879 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Oct 23, 2005
Location:
City:Kent
County:King
State:Washington
Boxes:1
Found by: MickeyMouse
Last found:Jul 9, 2008
Status:FF
Last edited:Oct 23, 2005
LETTERBOX AT THE BEREITER HOUSE, KENT, WA

From I-5 Southbound (Seattle): Take the I-405 N exit.
Merge onto I 405 N
Take the WA 167 exit.
Keep right at the fork in the ramp.
Merge onto Valley Freeway, WA 167S
Take the 84th Ave South exit towards N. Central Avenue
Turn left onto 84th Avenue S
84th Avenue S becomes Central Avenue N
Turn left onto E. Smith Street/WA 516.

From I-5 Northbound (Tacoma): Take the WA 18 East exit.
Merge onto WA 18 E.
Take the WA 167 North exit towards Kent/Renton
Keep right at the fork in the ramp.
Merge onto WA 167
Take the WA 516 exit towards Willis Street/DesMoines
Turn right onto WA 516 E
WA 516 E becomes W Willis Street/WA 516
Turn left onto Central Avenue S /WA 516
Turn right onto E Smith St /WA 516



The museum is only open from 12:00am to 4:00pm Wednesday – Saturday. To be safe, call in advance to see if the doors are open 253 854 4330. Or call and schedule an appointment.

This home was built by Emil Bereiter in 1908. He was the owner and president of Covington Lumber Co., also know as Bereiter Sawmill. In 1912 he became the mayor of Kent.

To begin your search, check out the living room that is full of donated pieces of furniture from the residents of the city of Kent. You can ask the docent to give you the particulars or just walk and enjoy your surroundings. Sorry your treasure is not in the fireplace.

In the dining room, as you make your way to the letterbox, you will notice old pocket doors which were used for two reasons. One reason was for private dining, as Mr. Bereiter was the mayor of the city and entertained frequently. The other reason was that they held the heat in the room where the occupants were sitting. The furnishings in this room were donated or are on loan. The only furniture left in the house by the Kecks (last family to own the house) is the marble table.

The breakfast room has nice furnishings too, which were donated by city residents, but the letterbox is still a bit farther. In any case, you can take notice of the small kitchen appliances that were used before the invention of electricity and some used in the early days of electricity. The kitchen was modified in the 1950’s. We leave it this way because we have clubs who meet at the museum and use the kitchen.

The back porch and laundry room are full of old stuff. Get the docent to tell you about these items. The letterbox is not here but you are getting closer. Turn around; go back through the kitchen and dining room, through the hallway and check out the ink drawings, and head for the stairs that you saw when you began this tour.

The charcoal pictures going up the stairs are of the great grandmother of one of the founders of the Kent Museum. The next two pictures are also relatives of the founder. Ask them if you are on the right track.

All the bedrooms upstairs are either displayed according to the period or are used to display objects unique to the city of Kent. Take your time. Think about letterboxing. The bathroom is mostly original. You cannot go in there, so you know the treasure is elsewhere.

The door to the third floor is closed and off limits because the stairs are too steep. The city of Kent, owners of the house, have asked us not to use it as part of the tour or to plant a letterbox up there, so keep going. Go back downstairs to continue your search, turn to the right upon reaching the main floor. Walk to the roll top desk and notice the photographs. Turn to your left and see a collection of destination stamps used in the old bus system. Your treasure is right around and very near the area of the stamps. Thanks for visiting the Kent Museum. Don’t forget to sign the guest book.