Des Moines History Timeline 1950s

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June 8 - Normandy Park was incorporated as a thrid-class city. It was the first city incorporated in the Highline area. Originally developed beginning in 1926 as a planned residential community overlooking Puget Sound, the city was established to provide local government and guide future growth.

The first section of Wesley Gardens, a retirement home, was completed.
Pacific Telephone and Telegraph established the WAverly 7 (WA 7) automatic telephone exchange serving the Federal Way–Midway area. The new exchange reflected the area's rapid postwar growth and replaced earlier dependence on Tacoma and Seattle telephone services.

October 9 - The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company converted the Federal Way–Midway area from manual telephone service to direct dial service. New exchange names, including WAverly 7 and later TRinity 8, became part of the area's modern telephone system.
October 12 — The Federal Way–Midway Kiwanis Club received its charter. The service organization had begun meeting on June 14, 1955, at Rocky's Drive-In Restaurant and became an important civic organization serving the Federal Way, Midway, and surrounding communities.

April 2 — Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser carrying 32 passengers and 6 crew members, ditched in Puget Sound near Point Robinson shortly after departing Sea-Tac Airport. Although all aboard escaped the aircraft before it sank, four passengers and one flight attendant died from drowning or exposure. Thirty-three people survived.

April 3 — Wes Betts dedicated the new 250-boat Redondo Marina. Built by Wes and Byron Betts at a cost of approximately $200,000, the three-story facility was considered one of the most modern marinas in the Pacific Northwest and became a prominent landmark on the Redondo waterfront
June 17 - City of Des Moines was incorporated as a third-class city.
November 30 - Des Moines Ordinance 27 annexed a small area immediately north of South 216th Street at 13th Avenue South.