The Fremont Arts Council applied for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant in 1989 for a project they called “Hall of Giants” to create a sculptural environment in the view corridor underneath the north end of the Aurora Bridge, an area full of garbage and old mattresses. Their goal was to… [ Keep reading ]
See update below! Sometimes photographs come to us with no or limited description, leading to a need for some detective work to discover where and when it might have been taken. One example is this recently scanned slide from the Historic Building Survey Photograph Collection (Record Series 1629-01). To view… [ Keep reading ]
We recently completed processing the records of Councilmember Kshama Sawant, including seven different record series. Sawant served on City Council from 2014 through 2023, first in a citywide position and then representing District 3 after a charter amendment reorganized the council into geographical districts. She was associated with the successful… [ Keep reading ]
A folder in the Water Department Central Files documents incidents of trespassing in the Cedar River Watershed between 1955 and 1964. The watershed supplies drinking water to the greater Seattle area and also is a major source for downstream rivers, supporting salmon and other species. To protect the water and… [ Keep reading ]
SMA archivists and staff from the Cedar River Watershed recently traded visits to learn more about each other’s work and discuss preservation of records. The watershed is an important part of Seattle’s history as well as its current infrastructure, and records created and held there are vital to understanding the… [ Keep reading ]
“Goats to Munch on Invasive Plants at York Park!” was the headline of a 2005 media advisory from the Department of Parks and Recreation. The text went on to explain that the goats’ lunch would help clear ground for a new park on the site of a former City Light… [ Keep reading ]
Along with correspondence about Fire Department business, Fire Chief Frank Stetson’s files also include copies of letters to his son Horatio, who was serving in World War I. The younger Stetson had previously been posted in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War and at the Mexican border with the Washington… [ Keep reading ]
The Ballard Neighborhood District Coordinator Records (Record Series 5752-16) are now available for use in our research room. The records date from 1974 to 2016 and include meeting minutes, reports, correspondence, and notes relating to the activities of Ballard District Coordinator Rob Mattson. Each of Seattle’s 13 neighborhood districts had… [ Keep reading ]
Happy World Digital Preservation Day, everybody! Whether it be all those pictures and videos on your phone, important tax documents, papers you’ve written for school, or for us at the archives, alllllll of those many thousands of digital objects in our holdings – today is a great day to think… [ Keep reading ]
Wildlife managers at the Ballard Locks have long been vexed by sea lions hanging around the fish ladder and eating migrating salmon. A file in Department of Neighborhoods records reveals one unique approach to the problem in the 1990s – Fake Willy. KISW radio personality Bob Rivers promoted the idea… [ Keep reading ]
