In the late 1950s and early 1960s, high school kids flocked to the northwest corner of Pacific Highway South and Kent-Des Moines Road to dance at the Spanish Castle.

Soon, lease payments from a new Walgreen Drug Store at the site will help build public schools.

The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has acquired the 1.74 acres of commercial property in Des Moines in a swap for 320 acres in Puyallup.

State-owned trust land is managed to produce income to build schools, community colleges and universities, prisons, state mental hospitals and help fund county services and the state general fund.

DNR officials expect to generate $481,500 in annual lease revenue from the property.

The Des Moines lease "will offer better-than-average market returns," DNR spokeswoman Jane Chavey noted in a press release.

The department manages about 3 million acres of state-owned forests, agricultural lands and commercial properties that have raised over $6 billion in revenue since 1970.

The small parcel is equal in value to 320 acres of property on South Hill in Puyallup, Chavey said.

The acreage in the Thun Field area is within Pierce County's urban growth area and has not generated money from timber sales in recent years.

Investco Financial Corp. of Sumner agreed to swap the Des Moines parcel for the Puyallup property.

Chavey said she expects Investco will build a housing development on some of the land.

According to the Des Moines Historical Society's Web site, the Spanish Castle was built in the early 1930s and became known as the Highline Spanish Castle. The building looked like a castle and had the initials "H L" on the chimney.

It was one of many ballroom dance establishments in the Seattle area. Frankie Roth and later Gordon Greene led the band.

M. W. Morrill bought the castle in 1937 and sold it in 1961 to his original partner, C. L. Knudtsen.

About 40 years ago, KJR-AM disc jockey Pat O'Day hired rock bands to perform at the dance hall, midway between Seattle and Tacoma.

Jimi Hendrix, a Seattle native, performed there and wrote "Spanish Castle Magic" in its honor.

O'Day abruptly stopped sponsoring dances there when three young people were killed in two traffic accidents on the highway and in the parking lot.

The Castle was bulldozed in April 1968 and replaced with an office building.

Last spring, the office building was demolished to make room for Walgreen, which is set to open in the next few months.

Eric Mathison can be reached at hteditor@robinsonnews.com or 206.388-1855.