Riverside - The Croatians of West Seattle

Frank Zuvela remembers Riverside. In fact, he is almost the last person who does. Warehouses and industrial docks now cover what was once a thriving community of Croatian fishermen. Traveling in search of a better life, they made their homes and businesses on the banks of the Duwamish River - writing a chapter of Seattle history that few today would even recognize.

Riverside is gone - the neighborhood has given way to industrial buildings and the residents have moved. For many their search for the American dream brought the prosperity that they sought and Riverside was left for other neighborhoods. Some have stayed in West Seattle, but few retain the memories of the Riverside community, now more that a half century after the residents moved out. We start our tour at the Riverside memorial - erected by the former residents to mark where the neighborhood once was - and Frank takes us through the shared history of the place they knew as home, Riverside.