The Little House with a Soul
Gaston Alfred Beck Ganahl was raised in Southern California and worked the lumber mills along the northwest coast. In 1922, he met and began working for Robert Dollar, a shipping magnate with wealthy global markets, and Ganahl soon amassed a fortune of his own. In 1930, after the death of his wife, Ganahl built his dream house in the Edmonds’ Seaview Heights neighborhood. He had acquired important friends and famous stars in his travels and wanted a big house for lavish entertaining. Because of all his overnight visitors, he decided to build a guesthouse on the property. He had been to Yellowstone Park and was impressed with the rustic style cabins he saw there. He duplicated that style using hand-hewn, local, Douglas Fir logs for his cabin.
By 1945, the property was too big for Ganahl to manage, and he decided to sell most of his land, including the log cabin. The buyers of the cabin were Lee and Dorie Hanley. Dorie’s parents moved out from Illinois to claim the cabin as their own. Dorie’s dad, John Nihlroos, was a skilled carpenter and added shelves and cabinets to personalize the cabin. When John died, his wife, Thyra, lived another 25 years in the cabin, adding window boxes for flowers and an extensive garden. Meanwhile, Ganahl had resettled on his remaining land in a very modest house. That site is now the Seaview Elementary School.
The Hanleys finally sold the property and donated the unique log cabin to the City of Edmonds. The city had plans for the cabin, but wanted it moved closer to the center of town. Well, that was a big project because the cabin had a peaked roof of 26 feet. This meant the disconnection and reconnection of utility lines all along the route. Days later, the log cabin finally settled at 5th St. and Bell St.
Initially, the Chamber of Commerce used the cabin for their headquarters. The cabin was formally dedicated to the City of Edmonds at the Bicentennial on July 4, 1976 .
By 1990 the log cabin was 60 years old and in dire need of repair due to the rotting logs, a leaking roof and a sinking foundation. So, the “Save Our Cabin Committee” was formed to raise funds from private donations for these repairs. The committee raised more than $100,000, and the log cabin was restored.
Today, the log cabin remains firmly in its prestigious spot next to the Edmonds Historical Museum and across the street from the bustling offices of the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. Staffed entirely by volunteers, it houses the Visitors’ Center and is a collaboration of the City of Edmonds, the Port of Edmonds and the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. Tourists as well as locals wander in to see what’s new. The staff of knowledgeable helpers can steer you to bus, train and ferry timetables, even the current high and low tides. Want to see a live comedy or mystery tonight? The playbill for our local Driftwood players is here, as is the printed concert series for the Cascade Symphony. Information on all the local attractions, brochures, maps and magazines are all readily available. They can even tell you where to park, and that alone is worth a pot-of-gold on a spring Saturday!
The Visitor Information Center is open weekdays from 9am to 4pm and Sat. 10am to 2pm. And they can be reached at 425.776.6711, should you have a quick question or would like to volunteer.
