Big Tree Inn in 1930

Originally located at the SW corner of 200th Street and Des Moines Memorial Drive, The Big Tree Inn was created using two parts of a 2000-year-old, 300-foot tall giant redwood tree. It was originally constructed for the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, held in San Francisco. The Big Tree Inn was moved to Des Moines early in the 1920s where it became a popular eatery specializing in chicken dinners. When Highway 99 became the popular main road from Seattle to Tacoma, the Big Tree Inn was moved to a heavily traveled location across from the Angle Lake Plunge (now Angle Lake Park). Tragically this unusual establishment was eventually destroyed by fire.