Did you know that before it was Seattle’s first city park, Denny Park was Seattle’s first municipal cemetery? Created on land donated by David and Louisa Denny, burials started in the 1860s and continued until 1884 when Mayor Henry G. Struve signed Ordinance 571 to convert Seattle Cemetery into a… [ 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 ]
Did you know that Seattle City Light (SCL) used to employ a team of home economists? Led by chief home economist Mary Norris during the 1950s into the 1970s, they presented at regional home shows and to city employees, schools, and community groups on topics like canning, freezing, and holiday… [ 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 Native American Heritage Month! Today we’re remembering the Takeover of Fort Lawton, which began on March 8, 1970 when Native activists and their allies scaled fences surrounding what was then the recently decommissioned Fort Lawton military base in Magnolia, launching a coordinated effort to occupy and reclaim the land… [ 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 ]
Our latest Views from the Vault video dives into swimwear regulations from the 1930s. In a letter to the Seattle Park Board president, the sporting goods manager for the University Bookstore complained that men were required to wear full bathing suits on public beaches rather than the swimming trunks that… [ Keep reading ]
Sometimes we come across materials in the archives that maybe weren’t originally intended to be creepy, but we still think they kind of are! One of our favorites is a postcard showing the La Sousa Clown Band, a regular attraction at West Seattle’s Luna Park during the summer of 1909…. [ Keep reading ]
