We’re back for another walk up Stone Way; last time we stopped at Stone Way Auto. Keep heading north on the same block and the street changes character. The restored warehouses and trade shops give way to something you now see all over Ballard and increasingly in Fremont: large apartment buildings with ground-floor retail.
Stone Way previously earned nicknames like “DIY Row” and “Remodel Row” back when it was lined with paint, plumbing, and electrical suppliers. Prior to these businesses, local historian Valarie Bunn found there were three houses on this block, at 3627, 3631, and 3639, in a survey from about 1937 to 1938. “Residents that I found may not have lived there for very long as the block was already turning industrial,” she said.
The Hayes on Stone Way (3627 Stone Way N)
Before the apartments, this address belonged to Morgan’s Electric & Plumbing and Rodda Paint. Both closed in 2015 and were torn down. In their place came the Hayes, a four-story, 124-unit building that opened in 2017 with ground-floor retail. It was one of the first large apartment complexes on this part of Stone Way, and more followed.
Today the retail floor holds a few neighborhood options. Tavolàta serves Neapolitan-style pizza and house-made pasta; it’s part of ESR Hospitality, the restaurant group founded by Seattle chef Ethan Stowell. Studio 45 offers Lagree fitness classes on spring-resistance machines, and Bishops Cuts/Color is a walk-in salon.
Golden Rule Bakery and Stoneway Electric
Continuing the trek north, for most of the 20th century, 3665 Stone Way was home to the Golden Rule Dairy. According to Bunn, the Golden Rule Bakery and Dairy was a major Fremont employer from 1918 to 1964, started by Irish immigrants William Henry Pemberton and his sister Maud.
The dairy building at 3665 went up in 1945-46, designed by structural engineer M.O. Sylliaasen, and built by Atherton Construction Company, according to its landmark nomination. Golden Rule sold the dairy to Vitamilk in 1964. Stoneway Electric Supply moved in a decade later, staying through the Remodel Row years until 2021.
When a developer bought the property, the old dairy was nominated for city landmark status in 2019. The board declined to designate it, concluding, as Bunn put it, that while the company was a significant part of Seattle history, that history was “not embodied by or conveyed by the building.” For the full story, see Bunn’s deep dive on the Golden Rule Bakery and Dairy.
The Cline (3665 Stone Way N)
The old dairy came down, and the Cline opened in its place in 2024, a 243-unit apartment building with retail on the ground floor. Studio apartment rents advertise for $2,000 per month.
Downstairs, Café Feva pours espresso made with beans roasted and delivered weekly by Monorail Espresso. Owner Nicole named the café for her Aunt Feva.
Stone Way Installment 8
Next time, we’ll cross Stone Way and work our way north, starting at Public Storage.
Thanks to Valarie Bunn for her wonderful Fremont history research that makes stories like these possible!
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