Showing 1 - 20 of 46 results
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909) -- A Cybertour of Selected Buildings
This is a "Now and Then" Cybertour of selected exhibit buildings at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, held in 1909 on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. The buildings included in the Cybertour include most of those funded by the federal government and by the four Washington counties (Chehalis, King, Spokane, and Yakima) that erected buildings at the fair. This tour also includes the Washington Building (an important gathering place for large receptions) and the New York Building (where most of the fair's important banquets were held). This tour was written by Alan Stein and Paula Becker with assistance from Jennifer Ott, and curated by Paula Becker. Map by Marie McCaffrey. Preparation of this feature was made possible by the Washington Humanities Commission.
File 8678: Full Text >
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909): Baby Incubator Exhibit and Cafe
Washington's first World's Fair -- the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition -- was held in Seattle on the grounds of the University of Washington campus between June 1 and October 16, 1909, and drew more than three million people. The Pay Streak was the A-Y-P Exposition's midway area. It offered (for a price) a dizzying array of carnival rides, souvenirs, refreshments, and quasi-educational exhibits. These last involved the display of human beings in varying degrees of their (purported) natural settings, going about what was supposedly their usual daily work. The Baby Incubator Exhibit, which introduced fairgoers to an early version of mechanical controlled environments for the benefit of premature infants, featured living human babies as the (passive) performers, demonstrating applied science in the nursery decades before such technology was commonly integrated into neonatal care in hospitals.
File 8921: Full Text >
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909): Chinese Village
The Chinese Village was built for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (A-Y-P) Exposition in Seattle in 1909. The exposition took place between June 1 and October 16, 1909, drawing more than three million people. Visitors came from around the state, the nation, and the world to view hundreds of educational exhibits, stroll the lushly manicured grounds, and be entertained on the Pay Streak midway, while Seattle promoted itself as a gateway to the rich resources of Alaska, the Yukon, and Asia. The development and management of the Chinese Village was handled by Ah King (1863-1915), a successful Chinese merchant in Seattle. It was located in the northern part of the Pay Streak, right next to the Ferris wheel, and featured three buildings, including a Chinese temple, a restaurant, and a theater with acts that changed daily.
File 8964: Full Text >
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909): Committees
The 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was held in Seattle on the University of Washington campus from June 1 to October 16. This was Washington's first world's fair and it celebrated 12 years of prosperity -- since the 1897 Alaska Gold Rush -- through the display of resources, products, and advantages of Washington and the region. More than three million people visited the fair from Washington cities and counties and from the rest of the country. Planning, funding, and producing the A-Y-P Exposition required the talents of many civic leaders. Many of these leaders served on the committees of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Corporation. The Alaska-Yukon Exposition Corporation was formed May 8, 1906. On May 31, 1906, the word "Pacific" was added to the corporation's name. This file contains a list of the committees of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Corporation, as enumerated in the Secretary's Report of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (Seattle: Gateway Printing, 1911).
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Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909): Hoo-Hoo House
The Hoo-Hoo House was built by the Hoo-Hoo, a lumberman's fraternity, for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (A-Y-P) Exposition in Seattle in 1909. The exposition took place between June 1 and October 16, 1909, drawing more than three million people. Visitors came from around the state, the nation, and the world to view hundreds of educational exhibits, stroll the lushly manicured grounds, and be entertained on the Pay Streak midway, while Seattle promoted itself as a gateway to the rich resources of Alaska, the Yukon, and Asia. The Hoo-Hoo House was open to Hoo-Hoo members and lumbermen during the exposition. The house was particularly known for its two large ornamental cats in front of the building with green electric eyes which shone brightly at night. After the exposition ended, the building served as the University of Washington Faculty Club until it was demolished in 1959.
File 8655: Full Text >
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909): Pay Streak Amusements
The 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was held in Seattle on the University of Washington campus from June 1 to October 16. This was Washington's first world's fair and it celebrated 12 years of prosperity -- since the 1897 Alaska Gold Rush -- through the display of resources, products, and advantages of Washington and the region. More than three million people visited the fair from Washington cities and counties and from the rest of the country. The Pay Streak was the A-Y-P Exposition's midway area. It offered (for a price) a dizzying array of carnival rides, quasi-educational exhibits, souvenirs, and refreshments. It was a magnet for fairgoers of all ages. This file contains a list of the A-Y-P Exposition's gross receipts and exposition revenue generated by amusements, restaurants, and merchandise concessions during the course of the fair, as enumerated in the Secretary's Report of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (Seattle: Gateway Printing, 1911). Most, but not all, of these businesses were located on or near the Pay Streak. Some businesses operated for only a few weeks. Others operated throughout the course of the fair. This list excludes revenue generated within exhibit buildings.
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Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909): Special Days
The 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was held in Seattle on the University of Washington campus from June 1 to October 16. This was Washington's first world's fair and it celebrated 12 years of prosperity -- since the 1897 Alaska Gold Rush -- through the display of resources, products, and advantages of Washington and the region. More than three million people visited the fair from Washington cities and counties and from the rest of the country. Throughout the exposition, commemorative days were set aside to honor organizations, professions, and ethnic communities, as well as visitors from various cities, counties, and states. Some of these commemorations included banquets, conferences, or other forms of special recognition given to the groups being honored. Because these events were so popular with fairgoers, A-Y-P promoters kept adding new commemorative days as the fair progressed. Thus, some days had mulitple honorees. This file contains a list of all A-Y-P commemorative days as reported in The Seattle Daily Times, The Seattle Sunday Times, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
File 8461: Full Text >
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, 1909 -- A Slide Show of Seattle's First World's Fair
This is a Slide Show on the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Washington's first World's Fair, which opened on June 1, 1909, and closed on October 16, 1909. More than three million people visited the fair, which took place in Seattle on the University of Washington campus. Written and Curated by Paul Dorpat, with Chris Goodman. Presented by Safeco.
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Aqua Theatre -- Seattle
The Aqua Theatre was an open air stadium on the south shore of Seattle's Green Lake. The nationally famous Aqua Follies opened the new theater on August 11, 1950. Sell-out crowds came to see the water ballet, comedy, and dancers and singers, not to mention high divers plunging from two towers flanking a stage adorned with evergreen. Competition with the Seattle Center brought the outdoor theater's demise, and by 1970 it had closed.
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Barons, The: The Northwest's First Hit-making '50s Teen Rock 'n' Roll Group
A half-decade prior to the Pacific Northwest's great rock 'n' roll eruption of 1959-1960 -- a period that saw a series of teenage groups (including the Fleetwoods, Frantics, Shades, Gallahads, Wailers, Ron Holden and the Thunderbirds, and Little Bill and the Bluenotes) all suddenly burst onto the national scene with hit records -- yet another local group blazed that same trail. Tacoma's talented doo-wop singers, the Barons, were signed to one of America's most esteemed independent labels, the Los Angeles-based Imperial Records, and scored a series of promising hits. Unfortunately, the group was a bit ahead of its time -- the Northwest didn't even have an organized teen-dance scene yet -- and the Barons disbanded before they were able to make the most of their remarkable success. As a result, the group's legacy nearly slipped through the cracks of history. They are absent from all rock encyclopedias, they remain unheralded even in their home region, and the Barons' story has never been told until now.
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Barton, Kearney (b. 1931): The Man Who Engineered the Northwest Sound
Seattle's Kearney Barton is the man whose audio engineering work can be credited with forging the powerful aural esthetic that became widely known as the "original Northwest Sound." Numerous musicians also contributed to the process, but it was Barton who established what that "Sound" sounded like on classic records by pioneering area rock 'n' roll bands, including the Frantics ("Werewolf"), Playboys ("Party Ice"), Little Bill ("Louie Louie"), the Kingsmen ("Jolly Green Giant"), the Counts ("Turn On Song"), the Sonics ("Psycho"), and Don and the Goodtimes ("Little Sally Tease"). But Barton's half-century of work has also seen him produce recordings for a wide range of clients, including the Seattle and Portland opera companies, jazz/pop icon Quincy Jones, Scandinavian humorist Stan Boreson, country/pop diva Bonnie Guitar, the Supersonics and Sounders sports teams -- and even the performance soundtracks for Washington's 1984 Summer Olympics Gold Medalist swimmers, Traci Ruiz and Candy Costie. Perhaps most significantly though, through instructional classes held at his Audio Recording studios over the decades, Barton has trained and mentored an entire generation of students in the arts and sciences of audio engineering.
File 8719: Full Text >
Bumbershoot
By an estimate inflated, perhaps, with euphoria, more than 125,000 -- roughly one Bellevue plus one Walla Walla -- gathered at the Seattle Center for Festival '71 on August 13-15, 1971. For inspecting pundits, Seattle's first summer arts festival was a "populist grab-bag," a "smorgasbord of experiences," a "multimedia extravaganza," a "big box of gift chocolates," the "metropolitan telephone book." But not yet, a Bumbershoot.
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Century 21 -- The 1962 Seattle World's Fair, Part 1
The 1962 Seattle World's Fair, otherwise known as Century 21, gave visitors a glimpse of the future and left Seattle with a lasting legacy. The exposition gave Seattle world-wide recognition, effectively "putting it on the map." Years of planning went into the fair through the hard work of visionaries, go-getters, civic boosters, and dreamers. Many of the concepts and icons of Century 21 remain ingrained in Seattle culture, even as the "real" 21st Century begins.
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Century 21 -- The 1962 Seattle World's Fair, Part 2
To many, there never was a fair to compare to the Seattle World's Fair, or Century 21. Between April 21 and October 21, 1962, close to 10 million people visited the fair to climb the Space Needle, ride the Monorail, see the exhibits, take in a show, and enjoy the food, fun, and festivities. Maybe one of these people was you.
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Century 21 Exposition (1962): Music at the Fair
Seattle's Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair) was initially conceived to be the major attraction of the decade -- and with over 10 million tickets sold to both locals and visiting tourists during the fair's six-month run of April 21, 1962, through October 21, 1962, it proved to be exactly that. In addition to the many other entertainments offered up to those attendees was music. It was all booked by a Performing Arts Division team directed by a big-time New York-based classical music talent agent, Harold Shaw. The vision was to have varying forms of music (and/or dance) presented at such fairground venues as: the Opera House, the Playhouse, the Arena, the Stadium, Show Street, the International Bandstand, the International Fountain, the Rose Garden, the Plaza of the States, the United Nations Pavilion, the Horiuchi Mural area, and the Space Needle. Thus, there would be an incredibly wide range of music -- excellent music imported from nearly every corner of the globe including: England, Germany, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Spain, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Japan, China, Tahiti, Mexico, Jamaica, Canada. Not to mention top-notch music brought in from all across America: New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. Just about everywhere, it seemed, except from the Pacific Northwest itself -- where mainly volunteer amateur musicians were welcomed, and so visitors were largely deprived of hearing the best professional groups from this region.
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Century 21 Exposition (1962): Theme Songs and Souvenir Records
Seattle's Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair) successfully sold more than 10 million tickets to visiting tourists and locals during its six-month run between April 21,1962, and October 21, 1962. And -- as with every prior World's Fair -- legions of enterprising companies and individual entrepreneurs emerged with "collectible" items produced in an effort to separate tourists from their money. Amidst the myriad array of trinkets were Space Needle knickknacks, Monorail mementos, Bubbleator buttons, and countless other twenty-first-century tchochkes of every imaginable type. Included among them were fair-related songs that were marketed in souvenir sheet-music form and/or musical recordings. Indeed, it was reported at the time that nearly 100 such tunes were submitted in advance to the fair's management -- each composer likely hoping theirs might be selected as the exposition's "Official" theme song. Today we know that at least 200 songs were composed -- and more than 50 saw release as vinyl discs.
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Century 21 Exposition -- Forward Into the Past!
This is a Cybertourof the Century 21 Exposition, better known as the Seattle World's Fair of 1962. It was written by Alan J. Stein and designed by Chris Goodman.
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Century 21: Seattle's September Days with Elvis Presley, 1962
Countless celebrities, from astronaut John Glenn (b. 1921) to Walt Disney (1901-1966) visited Seattle between April 21 and October 21, 1962, to attend the 1962 Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). Although each received their share of media coverage and/or adulation from giddy fairgoers, none garnered the sustained media fanfare whipped up for Elvis Presley (1935-1977). During the week and-a-half -- September 5-15, 1962 -- that he was in town to work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's feature-length $2.5-million musical It Happened At The World's Fair, crowds of fans gathered on the fairgrounds and also kept a vigil outside his downtown hotel. Although Seattle's mainstream media had never liked rock 'n' roll -- The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer had both been editorializing and sniping at the music (and its fans) for years -- they and local television outlets covered his every move with breathless daily reports while the town's radio hyped endless Presley oldies. Even though Presley had, by 1962, long since passed his rockin' rebel peak -- he'd served in the Army and was well into his Hollywood doldrums -- the establishment was still reluctant to accept him. Seattle Post-Intelligencer scribe Jack Jarvis bragged about how he initially went down to the film-set with the full intent of writing a scathing review about The Side-Burned One, "and I was determined to cut him up into little pieces." Yet despite serious misgivings, the scribe quickly discovered that "I like the guy -- but will reserve judgment on his singing" (September 6, 1962). Regardless, for 10 consecutive days in September 1962, Elvis Presley's presence rocked much of a thoroughly star-struck Seattle.
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Farmer, Frances (1913-1970) -- Part 1
Seattle-born actress Frances Farmer, a rising star in the 1930s, is remembered today more for her unfortunate life story than for her once promising career. Talented and beautiful, Farmer was also a willful, troubled, and self-destructive woman. After a period of increasingly erratic behavior, she was declared legally insane and institutionalized in 1944. Released in 1950, she spent the rest of her life in relative obscurity. Since her death in 1970, however, she has become something of a cult figure, the subject of three books, three movies (the best known of which is the 1982 film Frances, starring Jessica Lange), several off-Broadway plays, scores of magazine articles, and a song, "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle," by Kurt Cobain, which includes this line: "She'll come back as fire, to burn all the liars, and leave a blanket of ash on the ground."
File 5058: Full Text >
Farmer, Frances (1913-1970) -- Part 2
The once-promising career of Seattle-born actress Frances Farmer had declined by the early 1940s. A talented but troubled woman, she was relegated to minor roles in low-budget films and then dropped by the major studios altogether. In 1944, after a period of increasingly erratic behavior, she was declared legally insane and institutionalized. She attempted a comeback in the 1950s but never regained the momentum of her early years in Hollywood and on Broadway. Since her death in 1970, however, she has become something of a cult figure, better known for her harrowing personal life than for her relatively brief career. This is Part Two of her story.
File 5059: Full Text >
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Showing 1 - 20 of 158 results
Seattle's first circus arrives on August 24, 1869.
On August 24, 1869, the Great Eastern and Royal European Circus, the first circus to visit Seattle, performs in Pioneer Square in front of
approximately 400 people. One reporter deemed it "the most tame and insipid ever witnessed."
File 179: Full Text >
Man captures cougar near Lake Washington about February 23, 1870.
On February 23, 1870, Seymour Wetmore arrives in Seattle and announces that he captured a large cougar on his farm near Lake Washington. The animal was killing sheep in the area and a trap was devised to capture the animal. Mr. Allen, a Seattle resident, buys the cougar and exhibits it in towns around Puget Sound.
File 1629: Full Text >
Japanese troupe performs to record crowds in Seattle on May 11, 1872.
On May 11, 1872, in Seattle, the Marshall & Co.’s Great Tycoon Troupe of Japanese performs to record crowds at the Pavilion. The troupe of eight men and two women includes “balancers, jugglers, top spinners, equilibrists, acrobats ..." Newspapers raved the performances as "incredible and wholly beyond description," and as "bordering on the marvelous."
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Masquerade Ball held in Seattle's Pavilion attended by 300 on February 23, 1874.
On February 23, 1874 at 8 p.m., the citizens of Seattle put on a Masquerade Ball at the Pavilion, with an attendance of about 300 including about 50 couples in costume and some 200 spectators. “The affair … proved to be the most successful one of the kind in this city.”
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Chautauqua comes to Vashon Island on August 3, 1885.
On August 3, 1885, the first Chautauqua on Puget Sound is held at Dilworth Point (later renamed Ellisport) on Vashon Island. Named after Chautauqua, New York, where it was founded in 1874, the movement is a summertime presentation of lectures, discussions, and cultural activities lasting several days to a week in a resort atmosphere.
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Queen City Cycling Club hosts first ever Seattle bicycle tournament on July 5, 1888.
On July 5, 1886, Queen City Cycling Club holds Seattle's first Bicycle Tournament, featuring riders from Washington Territory and Oregon.
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Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope -- forerunner to projected motion pictures -- is demonstrated in Seattle on December 13, 1894.
On December 13, 1894, the Kinetoscope -- the latest wonder from famed inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931) -- makes its Seattle debut in a storefront on the Occidental Block, at the corner of 2nd Avenue and James Street. Although viewed at the time as a mere novelty, today the Kinetoscope is recognized as the machine that first brought motion picture technology to the general public.
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U.S. Navy Fleet anchors in Port Angeles harbor, beginning a tradition of annual visits, on October 2, 1895.
On October 2, 1895, the United States Navy Pacific Fleet, commanded by Rear Admiral Lester A. Beardslee (1836-1903), drops anchor in the deep, protected harbor at Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula. The Fleet's arrival caps a major countywide celebration that is the forerunner of the Clallam County Fair. City leaders entertain Admiral Beardslee and his officers with fishing trips to nearby Lake Crescent, and the Admiral, a noted angler, goes on to popularize the lake's unique variety of rainbow trout now known as Beardslee Trout. Beardslee also approves Port Angeles harbor as an ideal location for naval practice, and until the 1930s, the Pacific Fleet returns annually for summer exercises in the harbor.
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May Day picnic celebrates first irrigation water reaching Sequim Prairie on May 1, 1896.
On May 1, 1896, local farm families celebrate their completion of the first irrigation ditch carrying Dungeness River water to Sequim Prairie. Located in eastern Clallam County in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, the fertile praire receives less than 17 inches of rain a year. Dug by hand by local farmers who organized the Sequim Prairie Ditch Company in 1895, the ditch marks the beginning of the Sequim Irrigation District. Over the next quarter-century, some 20 ditch companies construct a maze of canals throughout the Dungeness Valley, eventually creating a 25,000-acre canal-sprinkler irrigation system, the largest in Western Washington. The Sequim Irrigation Festival commemorating the opening of the first ditch has been held every year since 1896, making it the oldest continuing festival in the state.
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First Puyallup Valley Fair is held in Puyallup on October 4-6, 1900.
On October 4-6, 1900, a group of Puyallup Valley farmers, business people, and other residents join together to produce an agricultural and livestock fair designed to highlight local products. The event is called the Valley Fair and is so successful that it becomes an annual event. In time it will become the Western Washington Fair Association's Puyallup Fair and draw the fifth-highest attendance of any fair in the country.
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Union labor attends Barber's Union ball in Seattle on January 1, 1901.
On January 1, 1901, the Seattle Barber's Union No. 195 holds its first annual ball at the Armory Hall. Most of the city’s unions are represented. This file includes a list of Seattle labor unions at the time.
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Beck Theater in Bellingham opens on December 13, 1902.
On December 13, 1902, the Beck Theater in Bellingham, located at 1310 Dock Street (now Cornwall), opens for business with the comic opera Foxy Quiller. The theater, built by Jacob Beck (1856-1915), seats 2,200 and quickly becomes the city’s finest entertainment venue.
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Ringling Bros. Circus comes to Seattle in August 1903.
In August 1903, the Ringling Bros. Circus comes to Seattle. A circus parade including at least 12 elephants as well as tableaus (carved wagons that resembled the gilded fantasies of a deranged royalty) makes its way down 2nd Avenue.
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Georgetown (future Seattle neighborhood) incorporates as a city on January 8, 1904.
On January 8, 1904, the voters of Georgetown decide, 211 to 165, to incorporate under Washington law as a city of the third class. The city, located south of Seattle along the Duwamish River, was a center of breweries and saloons and Seattle's dry laws were creeping too close for comfort. Six years later, however voters decide to annex to the city of Seattle.
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Autos and motorcycles race, first time in the Northwest, at The Meadows on August 12, 1905.
On August 12, 1905, automobiles and motorcycles race for the first time in the Northwest at The Meadows racetrack near Georgetown. "Contrary to expectations no one was killed and on one injured. One machine caught fire and burned, and two others broke down" ( Seattle Post-Intelligencer).
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Palace Theater in Vancouver opens on February 10, 1909.
On February 10, 1909, the Palace Theater opens in Vancouver, Washington. Located at 605 Main Street, the venue offers six one-reel silent films per show, with an admission price of 10 cents per person.
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Lettie Lee Rochester, age 14, receives the first season ticket to the A-Y-P Exposition, as reported on May 17, 1909.
On May 17, 1909, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that 14-year-old Lettie (Letitia) Lee Rochester (later Lettie Lee Craig, 1894-1968), a student at Seattle's Lincoln High School, is to receive the first season ticket to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (A-Y-P) Exposition. She receives the souvenir coupon book as a reward for her studiousness. The fair's department of admissions had received many simultaneous applications this first season ticket. The problem of who should be so honored was solved a businessman purchased the coupon book, offering to give it to a school girl as a reward for her studiousness. Lettie Rochester, daughter of the late Judge Junius Rochester, is chosen. She has received an "excellent" in English, algebra, ancient history, Latin, and German, and dreams of being a lawyer. The exposition will open on June 1 and will draw more than three million visitors before it closes on October 16, 1909. Visitors from around the state, the nation, and the world will view hundreds of educational exhibits, stroll the lushly manicured grounds, and be entertained on the Pay Streak midway, while Seattle promotes itself as a gateway to the rich resources of Alaska, the Yukon, and Asia.
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Queenie the elephant causes pandemonium at Seattle's White City amusement park on May 28, 1909.
On May 28, 1909, Queenie the elephant escapes in White City, a short-lived amusement park located in Seattle’s Madison Park neighborhood. A ruckus ensues and some slight damage is done before the elephant is recaptured.
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Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition opens in Seattle on June 1, 1909.
On June 1, 1909, close to 80,000 people attend opening day of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, held on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. The exposition took place between June 1 and October 16, 1909, drawing more than three million people. Visitors came from around the state, the nation, and the world to view hundreds of educational exhibits, stroll the lushly manicured grounds, and be entertained on the Pay Streak midway, while Seattle promoted itself as a gateway to the rich resources of Alaska, the Yukon, and Asia.
File 8965: Full Text >
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle celebrates Puget Sound Navy Yard and Port Orchard Day, and Children's Day on June 5, 1909.
On June 5, 1909, the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, along with the towns of Port Orchard Bay, celebrates its Special Day alongside the festivities for Children's Day, making for a boisterous day at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (A-Y-P) Exposition. The exposition took place on the University of Washington campus in Seattle between June 1 and October 16, 1909. More than three million visitors came from around the state, the nation, and the world to view hundreds of exhibits, stroll the lushly manicured grounds, and be entertained on the midway, while Seattle promoted itself as a gateway to the rich resources of Alaska, the Yukon, and Asia. Each day (except Sundays) of the A-Y-P was designated as a Special Day for one or more groups. Special Days drew people involved in the featured organizations, and the resulting programs, lectures, ceremonies, parades, and athletic competitions gave local people a reason to visit again and again. The Navy Yard closed for the day and the towns of Port Orchard, Charleston, Manette, and Bremerton nearly emptied as residents took the opportunity to enjoy the fair and boost their communities. The fair hosted several Children's Days that showcased the children of the state, while also giving the fair an opportunity to highlight programs of interest to children and their parents.
File 8665: Full Text >
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Showing 1 - 17 of 17 results
Coal Miners' Picnic
Through the middle of the twentieth century, when hundreds of coal miners worked the coal mines of eastern King and Pierce counties, the annual Coal Miners' Picnic was a highlight of the summer for miners and their families. This People's History presents a description of the typical fare and activities at Miners' picnics written by William Kombol, Manager of Palmer Coking Coal Company. This is followed by an account of one of the largest Miners' picnics of the era, held by the Morris Brothers Coal Mining Company on July 16, 1933, which originally appeared in the Enumclaw Courier-Herald on July 21, 1933. The Palmer Coking Coal Co. is the successor to the Morris Brothers Coal Mining Company and William Kombol is a descendant of the Morris family.
File 9076: Full Text >
Green Lake Theater: A Seattle Reminiscence by Dorothea Nordstrand
This reminiscence of Seattle's Green Lake Theater was written by Dorothea (Pfister) Nordstrand (b. 1916). Her family moved to the Green Lake neighborhood around 1919. In 2009 Dorothea Nordstrand was awarded AKCHO's (Association of King County Historical Organizations) Willard Jue Memorial Award for a Volunteer, for contributing these vivid reminiscences to various venues in our community, including HistoryLink.org's People's History library.
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Haunted Email from Rose Red
This essay contains selected email queries received by HistoryLink concerning Rose Red, an ABC-TV mini-series which aired in January 2002 and was based on a story concept by Stephen King and a related Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life At Rose Red (New York: Hyperion Books, 2001), in fact written by Ridley Pearson. These works of fiction claimed to tell the tale of an actual haunted Seattle mansion. The cachet of verisimilitude was reinforced by a seemingly legitimate “Beaumont University” Website, which included a link to HistoryLink and generated numerous emails from visitors seeking “the truth about Rose Red.” This sampling of queries sent to HistoryLink offers a case study in the power of media to mislead in the name of entertainment -- or worse.
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Having Fun in Cedar Falls, 1922-1940
Dorothy Graybael Scott's account of family and social life at a Cedar Falls railroad camp (in east King County) was originally recorded on June 15, 1993 as a part of the Cedar River Watershed Oral History Project. Dorothy Graybael Scott moved to Cedar Falls in 1922, as a young girl. Her father, Carl Graybael, worked for the Milwaukee Railroad in Cedar Falls, as a substation operator. Cheryl Meyer conducted the interview at Mrs. Scott's North Bend home.
File 2457: Full Text >
Holden, Dave: On Race and Music in Seattle, 1956-1966
Dave Holden was born on May 21, 1937, in Seattle. Son of local jazz legend Oscar Holden, Dave got his first paid gig as a jazz musician in the late 1950s. From that time on, Dave's keyboard and vocal talents have taken him around the world. In this HistoryLink interview conducted by Heather MacIntosh in Kent on May 23, 2000, Dave Holden shares his memories of Garfield High School, growing up in the Central Area, and his virtual isolation from the explosive racial tensions of the 1960s.
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Holden, Grace: Living with a Legend
The following account was excerpted from an interview with Oscale Grace Holden (b. 1930), the daughter of Oscar Holden (1886-1969), who was, according to Paul DeBarros in Jackson Street After Hours: The Roots of Jazz in Seattle, the patriarch of Seattle jazz. The Holden children, Grace, and her brothers Oscar Jr., Dave, Ron, and Jimmy were all musicians who played in Seattle in the late 1940s and beyond. Grace Holden still sings in her church's gospel choir. In this interview, conducted by HistoryLink's Heather MacIntosh on May 17, 2000, at Grace Holden's home in Madison Valley in Seattle, she shares memories of her father and of life as a Holden in Seattle in the 1930s and 1940s.
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Irish Clubs: The Early Years
When the nieces of Bridget Aylward arrived in Seattle, there was already a fledgling Irish club here, then called the American Association for Recognition of the Irish Republic. (Bridget Aylward retired to Seattle after traveling to the Klondike in the late 1890s as cook for an expedition led by a Captain Healy and later ended up mining for gold on her own. After settling in Seattle, she was named Queen of Alaska at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909.) The club met regularly for Irish dances and picnics. Although membership waned in the 1930s and 1940s when the Irish Free State achieved worldwide recognition, there was always an annual Irish picnic. Members took the ferry across Lake Washington to Fortuna Park, and the picnic always included a game of Irish football.
File 2209: Full Text >
Irish Dancing
Besides playing Gaelic football, Irish dancing had been one way that people born in Ireland could pass on a taste of their heritage to their children born here. There are two main kinds of Irish dancing. Step dancing is performed mainly in exhibition or competition and requires a great deal of skill and practice, and is the style of dancing now more popular than ever because of Riverdance. CEILI dancing requires only an elementary knowledge of some basic steps; in many respects it can be compared to American Square Dancing.
File 2208: Full Text >
Masked Robbers Trammel Train in Ballard
Romantic tales of bank heists, train robberies, and hold ups were favorites of American newspapers, large and small, in the early part of the twentieth century. Among these is a story set in Ballard, then an incorporated city. On October 6, 1905, a Leavenworth (Washington) newspaper, Echo, covered a train robbery that occurred four miles outside of Ballard. In 1982, United Artists studio brought to the big screen the story of Bill Miner, the Grey Fox, one of the perpetrators identified in this account. The 1905 Ballard train robbery postdates the popular film, The Great Train Robbery, produced in 1903. This file includes the Echo account of the robbery.
File 2275: Full Text >
Nordic Heritage Museum Vanishing Generation Interview with Helen Hill
Betsy Lindley interviewed Helen Hill (b. 1926) on August 7, 2000, for the Nordic Heritage Museum Vanishing Generation Oral History Project. Helen was born in Ballard and although she lived in many different places as a child, she returned to Ballard and raised a family. She is of Finnish heritage and participated in many Finnish Community groups, including the Finnish Lutheran Church and activities at Veliasurra Hall. She details various recreational opportunities for children and young adults in Seattle during the 1940s, including amusement parks, camping, dancing, swimming, and ice and roller-skating.
File 5767: Full Text >
Remembering the First Fat Tuesday: Marie McCaffrey's Exact Recollections
In this People's History, Marie McCaffrey tells the story of how Seattle's Fat Tuesday -- the annual carnival-style celebration that takes place in Pioneer Square -- got started. The first Fat Tuesday went from February 14-19, 1977. McCaffrey states, "This is how I remember the first Fat Tuesday -- exactly. It was 23 years ago and I was 26 years old."
File 2925: Full Text >
Seattle's Potlatch Bug (1912)
This essay on Seattle's Potlatch, the Ad Club, and Seattle's Potlatch Bug is based on materials found in the library of Seattle's Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI). It was prepared by MOHAI historian Lorraine McConaghy, Ph.D.
File 8213: Full Text >
Slam Poetry: A Brief History from Chicago to Seattle
Slam poetry is a form of competitive performance poetry in which participants offer works no longer than three minutes and are judged by randomly picked audience members. The winners then progress to higher rounds with new pieces, and the poet with the highest score in the finals wins a cash prize. The format was pioneered in Chicago in the mid-1980s, and first appeared in Seattle in 1992. In honor of Seattle’s first hosting of a national slam competition from July 31 to August 5, 2001, poet and HistoryLink assistant editor Alyssa Burrows reviews the history of a format which has re-energized the poetry scene and made poetry -- for a broader and younger audience -- actually interesting.
File 3448: Full Text >
The Exposition: A Contemporary Report on the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition by Mateel Howe (1909)
This is a contemporary report on the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Washington's first world's fair. The exposition took place between June 1 and October 16, 1909, drawing more than three million people. Visitors came from around the state, the nation, and the world to view hundreds of educational exhibits, stroll the lushly manicured grounds, and be entertained on the Pay Streak midway, while Seattle promoted itself as a gateway to the rich resources of Alaska, the Yukon, and Asia. Mateel Howe was sent to the exposition from her home in Portland to report on its opening week by the newspaper The Independent. This is a reprint of her report published as "The Exposition," The Independent, June 24, 1909, p. 1368
File 8892: Full Text >
Turning Point 10: Close-Up on Seattle's Early Film History
In the tenth essay in HistoryLink's Turning Points series for The Seattle Times, contributing editor Eric L. Flom rewinds the history of Seattle's long love affair with the movies back to the opening scenes. He tracks the city's first moving picture exhibitions, the explosion of early movie houses around the city, and the competition between vaudeville and film for the dimes and nickels of theatergoers. The article was published on June 15, 2001.
File 9310: Full Text >
Turning Point 13: Summer in the City: From Potlatch to Bumbershoot
The 13th article in HistoryLink's "Turning Points" series for The Seattle Times recaps the history of summer festivals from the first 1911 Potlatch though the creation of Seafair to help celebrate Seattle's centennial, up to Bumbershoot. The essay was written by Walt Crowley and published on August 3, 2001.
File 9303: Full Text >
West Seattle Memories Part 4: Luna Park
This file contains memories of West Seattle's Luna Park taken from oral history interviews conducted in 1999 by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Luna Park, Seattle's "Coney Island of the West," enticed visitors with thrilling rides, garish amusements, and the "longest bar on the bay" for only six years, from 1907-1913. George Shephard describes some of the rides and Carroll Mage recalls observing the Luna Park Fire of 1930 (the natatorium was still in use). Carroll Mage was interviewed by Lois Watkins and George Shephard was interviewed by JonLee Joseph.
File 3496: Full Text >
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