California-based Google just celebrated its Grand Opening of its new offices in our city of Kirkland, WA, about 2 miles from our old offices on Sixth Street South. Interestingly, for 14 years, from 1992 to 2005, I lived near the site that Google built its facilities on.

From keyholes to keywords.
The site was what we called the “Souder Door site,” a dormant door-manufacturing facility. I was a representative of the Everest Neighborhood Community Association (one of Kirkland’s 9 official neighborhoods) and we kept close tabs on the various proposals over the years for what to do with the property. Developers coveted it. Condos were proposed. A shopping center was pitched. The then-mayor of Kirkland even met with us and proposed a fantastical train station.

Rah!
Never in a million years would we have guessed that Google would ultimately occupy the site. In fact, Google didn’t even exist in 1992.

Google Kirkland, in conjunction with the smaller Google Seattle office across Lake Washington in the Fremont neighborhood, employs about 600 people. They have primary responsibility for Google Talk and Talk Video, and also work  on Google Maps, Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, Analytics, AdPlanner, AdWords and more.

Good for Google. Good for Kirkland.

Gary Meyers
President