Everett Archives: Walt’s Milk House
This is the story of a place called Walt’s Milk House.
Its brief existence was poorly documented. It’s a place that crops up in conversations about Everett’s history. Those who remember the place remember it fondly.
Walt’s Milk House was a place where Everett folk could buy milk produced by cows in the Snohomish River Valley. It opened in 1960. The building had a sign out front that featured a bottle pouring milk into a glass. Walt’s milk was “locally produced” before that became a back-to-the-land-based health movement. In fact, pretty much all milk until the late 20th Century was local. The milk was shipped from the farm to Walt’s Milk House in tall metal cans.
(Speaking of agriculture products, the city of Everett used to also be home to a rather large egg packing plant in Riverside.)
Walt’s Milk House was on 44th and Rucker, just south of the totem pole that used to adorned the intersection of Evergreen and 41st. The milk house building still stands next to the Totem Diner. It has a distinct V-shaped roof that was part of the branding on Walt’s glass milk bottles.
Image // Jack O'Donnell Collection
Walt’s sold legendary chocolate milk. By “legendary” I mean that three people I talked to for this article independently claimed that it was the best chocolate milk that they’ve ever tasted. That’s an impressive claim. I hear that the egg nog was pretty great, too.
Today, if you bicycle or drive out on Lowell-Larimer between Everett and Snohomish you can see smaller dairies nestled up in the hills above the valley... a reminder of how many farms there were. Some of these dairies are still open, though many of them are shuttered or working at a small capacity.
What remains today of Walt’s Milk House? A Google search yields a few branded items sold on Etsy as eclectic rustic home decor. A rare Everettite will bring it up now and then. But it’s living on in another way, too: the building that used to be Walt’s Milk House is now undergoing renovation. The Milk House Coffee Co. is moving into the spot this year, and the owners plan to open soon, selling gourmet espresso.
Image // Vintage Everett Facebook Page
And that’s how time is. Environmental policies change. Commercial refrigeration advances and creameries consolidate, shipping their wares further in trucks. Supermarkets emerge, replacing local dairies. Boutique cafes open. And Walt’s Milk House closes, remembered fondly by a few... for now.
We may yet return again to our local food systems.
Until then, let’s lift a frosty glass of chilled milk to Walt’s.
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Header image: Etsy
