The Dayton Cedars

 

10/14/25 Western red cedars on Dayton Street, Crown Hill neighborhood

These four western red cedars in the Crown Hill neighborhood are slated to be cut down and replaced by town homes and related parking. Environmental activist groups point out that an alternate plan is available to build the same housing while retaining the trees (yet likely wouldn’t be as profitable).

More than a hundred years old, the trees were planted by the Dyment family, who transplanted the cedars from Snoqualmie Pass so that the trees would surround their home. Beloved by the neighborhood, the four cedars provide cooling shade, mitigate stormwater runoff, provide oxygen, decrease pollution, and host numerous species of birds and wildlife. The homeowner cared for them until his death.