Sometimes we come across folder titles that cry out for further investigation. When we saw a 1971 file labeled “Haircut Incident” listed in Mayor Uhlman’s records, we couldn’t resist heading to the vault to check it out. The folder turned out to contain records documenting a dispute about whether firefighter… [ Keep reading ]
We’re in peak cherry blossom season, with crowds flocking to the University of Washington quad and other spots in the city that are bursting with pink blooms. Our Seattle Center Promotion and Publicity Records (Record Series 7613-01) include a folder documenting early years of Seattle’s Cherry Blossom Festival. The 1979… [ Keep reading ]
In the late 1940s, the city of Seattle established daylight savings time. Citizen letters to the city council indicate this was not necessarily a popular move. For example: Mrs. C.E. Davis: “Why do you and all those who want DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME, go to the Artic [sic] Circle where they… [ Keep reading ]
An exchange of letters saved in the Fire Chief’s General Correspondence series highlights some early trash talk between the chiefs in Tacoma and Seattle. A letter dated July 28, 1933, from Tacoma’s Chief Whitaker to Seattle’s Chief Corning referenced an upcoming baseball game between department staff from the two cities,… [ Keep reading ]
Two Clerk Files from 1956 contain letters from teenagers (all girls) protesting the city’s refusal to allow Elvis Presley the use of the Civic Auditorium, apparently over concern about potential unruly behavior by youth attending the concert. (In a separate Clerk File, a parent applauded the decision, saying kids’ “craze… [ Keep reading ]
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 ]
