It’s back-to-school time! Included in the archives are many examples of students writing to city officials on topics important to them. Here’s just a few of our favorites. In June 1952, Girl Scout Troop 413 sent a petition to the city asking for the improvement of Lucile Street between 18th… [ Keep reading ]
Did you know SMA holds annual reports from multiple city departments, some going back to the late 1800s? They can be excellent sources for researching departmental projects and priorities over time, revealing the successes and struggles of city work as Seattle grew year by year. One unique early example is… [ Keep reading ]
Pike Place Market celebrates its 119th birthday this year! The origins of the market can be traced to Ordinance 16636 passed on August 5, 1907, designating a portion of “Pike Place” as a location that could be used “for the sale of garden, farm and other food products from wagons,… [ Keep reading ]
Textual records from a recent Police Department accession have been processed and many new collections are available for research! The largest series is the Subject Files (Record Series 6403-01), which cover a wide variety of subject matter, including DWI enforcement, precinct buildings, traffic management, drill teams, and the annual police… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle’s long-running summer festival Seafair has been an annual tradition for over 75 years. The first Seafair celebration took place in August 1950 and featured parades, boat races, Fleet Week, a royal court, pirates, a new Aqua Theater on Green Lake with synchronized swimming performances by the Aqua Follies, and… [ Keep reading ]
Our volunteer Ilias Bowen-Sicalides recently finished processing a set of Engineering Department records that gives us a fascinating look at street vending carts in the 1970s and 1980s. The Board of Public Works authorized street vending carts in 1972, with a one-page document providing all of the regulations for cart… [ Keep reading ]
An unusual Department of Community Development report from 1971 was meant to incorporate ecological and urban design factors into Seattle’s city planning efforts. Titled “Determinants of City Form,” the document is more or less an atlas of stylized maps with accompanying narratives. A transmittal letter to the mayor declared the… [ Keep reading ]
The Police Academy Records (Record Series 6408-01) include pages from a notebook created by Howard E. Hartsfield when he was in training at the academy in 1952. The pages in Hartsfield’s meticulous handwriting note what he was learning in his classes, with the occasional hand-drawn illustration. His table of contents… [ Keep reading ]
We recently processed the records of City Councilmember Mark Solomon, who served as interim representative for District 2 on the council in 2025. Solomon was born and raised in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle. After earning a BA in humanities from Seattle University in 1981, he entered the U.S…. [ Keep reading ]
Neighbor Appreciation Day started in Seattle in 1995 as an opportunity to recognize caring neighbors and help all neighbors to get to know each other. Over the past 31 years, the annual event – now called Neighbor Day – has continued to encourage community connections, with many neighborhoods participating through… [ Keep reading ]
