Seattle's Greenwood-Phinney Neighborhood, the latest in the "Images of America" series of photo books about the city's past, made its debut at a crowded Santoro's Books yesterday.

Author Ted Pedersen, 69, who grew up in Greenwood and now lives in Ballard but "would like to get back to here (Greenwood)," was on hand to sign dozens of books and exchange memories with district oldtimers.

Pedersen moved to the district in the summer of 1947 with his parents and attended Greenwood Elementary School. He eventually left for a script-writing career in Los Angeles and supports the current writer's strike to recoup royalties from Internet and other digital sales.

Pedersen's book contains a range of images from the neighborhood's early days, including a hilarious shot of elephants being led along the avenue after a truck transporting them to the zoo overturned. One is particularly struck by the amount of rail that used to exist on the Ridge. Guy C. Phinney, the wealthy land baron who founded Woodland Park on his 342–acre estate, even had his own streetcar for going back and forth to work downtown.

There were rails from Fremont to Greenwood, from the park down to Green Lake, inside the zoo, to Ballard and north to the interurban system connecting to Everett. Seattle recently christened the South Lake Union Trolley (SLUT) system with a measly 1.3-mile route and the city supposedly has plans to extend the system outward. But the SLUT cost $52 million and building new rail is onerously expensive. If only the Ridge had managed to hang onto its streetcar network!

Drop by Santoro's for your copy of Seattle's Greenwood-Phinney Neighborhood ($19.99, Arcadia Publishing). It'll bring back smiles of memories to longtime denizens and enlighten and amuse newcomers. Santoro's has plenty of signed copies for your enjoyment.