Keyword(s): pioneer square
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 t...
After a protracted planning period that spanned nearly two decades, work commenced on the Alaskan Way Viaduct on February 6, 1950. The project, jointly constructed by the City of Seattle and the state...
When it opened in 1953, the much-maligned Alaskan Way Viaduct, State Route 99's route along the Seattle waterfront, offered the first route around Seattle's congested central business district. The ex...
Allied Arts of Seattle is one of the city's most influential advocates for urban design and the arts. It grew out of the Beer & Culture Society, a small circle of academics, architects, and artist...
Chinese immigrants, largely men, began arriving in Seattle in the 1860s, and played a key role in the development of Washington Territory, providing labor for the region's mines and salmon canneries a...
The Bank of Commerce Building (common name, Yesler Building) at 95 Yesler Way, is located on the southwest corner of 1st Avenue S and Yesler Way and was one of three "legacy" buildings commissioned b...
The "spectator sport" of bear wrestling is an ancient, if disturbing, one that is still practiced in only a few nations. In America, the man-vs.-bear spectacle became a fad among beered-up tavern patr...
The Central Tavern – located in the historic Skagit Building at 207 First Avenue South -- has been near the center of Seattle’s nightlife action for many decades. What began as a caf&eacut...
Chateau Ste. Michelle is a Woodinville-based winery that is Washington's largest fine-wine producer. The business was built upon the foundation of the state's most successful winemaking firm, Seattle'...
Kevin Daniels (b. 1957) has been a leading figure in Seattle real-estate development and historic preservation for more than 35 years. Born in Idaho and educated at Gonzaga University in Spokane, he b...
Madison is one of Seattle's most storied streets. From an ageless game trail, to an ancient Indian path, to a pioneering wagon road, to a major arterial, its evolution mirrored the development of the ...
Early buildings in what is now the state of Washington were mostly constructed of wood. There were no organized fire departments and not much water that could be used in the event of fire. Seattle's d...
Elmer H. Fisher was Seattle’s foremost commercial architect for a few years surrounding the great fire of 1889. His extensive Romanesque and Classical Revival building programs, which reflected ...
The great-grandson of Oregon Trail emigrants, Donald Isle Foster hailed from a solid line of Pacific Northwest pioneers. He first came to prominence in the business community as the Director of Exhibi...
On February 15, 1852, Arthur Denny (1822-1899), Carson Boren (1824-1912), and William Bell (1817-1887) select Donation Land claim sites on the eastern portion of Elliott Bay. Most of the original sett...
On May 23, 1853, Arthur Denny (1822-1899), Carson Boren (1824-1912), and Dr. David S. Maynard (1808-1873) file the first plats for the Town of Seattle and establish the present-day street grid in Pion...
On April 12, 1854, a lynch mob hangs two members of the Snohomish tribe in Pioneer Square. The Native Americans are accused of murdering a man believed to be Pennsylvania native James B. McCormick, wh...
On about October 24, 1872, Seattle's first brick building, constructed by Schwabacher Bros. & Company is completed. It stands on the west side of Commercial Street (1st Avenue S) just south of Mil...
On May 17, 1877, the City of Seattle passes Ordinance 138, establishing a datum point -- the point at which all other elevations in the city will be based. Prior to determining this "zero point" of th...
On February 7, 1886, violence breaks out in Seattle as a mob starts to forcibly expel most of the city's Chinese population. The next day one man dies and four are injured when they attack Home Guards...
At about 2:30 p.m. on June 6, 1889, a pot of glue bursts into flames in Victor Clairmont's basement cabinet shop at the corner of Front (1st Avenue) and Madison streets in Seattle. Efforts to contain ...
On July 18, 1897, one day after the Klondike gold rush begins in earnest when the steamship Portland docks at Seattle carrying 68 miners and two tons of gold lifted from the Klondike River, an adverti...
On October 18, 1899, a 60-foot totem pole from Fort Tongass, Alaska, is unveiled in Seattle's Pioneer Square and "greeted by cheers of a multitude of people." The totem had been stolen from a Tlingit ...
On June 25, 1901, former Seattle police chief William L. Meredith (1869-1901) is gunned down by theater owner John Considine (1863-1943) inside the G. O. Guy drugstore in Pioneer Square after Meredith...
On August 28, 1907, 19-year-old James E. Casey (1888-1983) and Claude Ryan start American Messenger Service (forerunner of United Parcel Service), with $100 borrowed from Ryan's uncle, Charley Jones. ...
On June 12, 1909, United Commercial Travelers Day is celebrated at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle. The A-Y-P Exposition took place on the University of Washington campus in Seattle bet...
On July 4, 1911, Seattle Police Officer Henry L. Harris (1882-1911) is shot and killed in Pioneer Square by an unknown assailant. Investigating officers are hindered by large numbers of intoxicated an...
On July 4, 1914, the 462-foot-high Smith Tower, located in downtown Seattle, is officially opened by its owner, Burns Lyman Smith (1880-1941). Located at 506 2nd Avenue, the building has taken three a...