Bellevue Biography: Fred J. Eitel (1866 – 1938) | Heritage Corner

Published 10:16 am Friday, October 14, 2011

Fred Eitel was born in Minnesota to German immigrant parents. He inherited his father’s business, a flour mill, and in 1894 he came to Washington state and opened up a new flour mill in Bridgeport (near Spokane).

In 1900 he came to Seattle, and in 1902 he started the Eitel Land Company.  Eitel owned, bought and sold properties along Third and Fifth avenues, between Pike and Pine streets. His office was in the Eitel Building on Second and Pike (this building is still standing today).

In 1906 he sold the Eitel Building and formed the Bellevue Land Company with William Norris and F. A. Sutphen. Eitel knew that the Lake Washington Ship Canal was coming, and he predicted that property values in Bellevue would increase once the canal was completed. Accordingly, he purchased property along the shores of Meydenbauer Bay and platted the Lochleven district.

Eitel did make a profit on the Lochleven properties after the ship canal came through in 1916. He remained in the area and stayed involved in Bellevue civic affairs until his death in 1938. He was one of the founders of the Bellevue Water Company in the 1920s, he was instrumental in creating Meydenbauer Park, and he served on the Bellevue School Board.

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