Seattle history
Historic photos show Seattle’s waterfront before the Alaskan Way Viaduct
A peek at a highway-free neighborhood
Historic photos show a brand-new Alaskan Way Viaduct
The viaduct wasn’t always old and crumbling
Paul Thiry and Ray Eckmann: Two unusual men behind an unusual building at 45th and the Ave
You might know it as the American Apparel building—or vacant space
The Seattle Center Armory started as an actual military armory—and evolved
It’s not just a cute name: The building formerly known as the Center House even still has a secret shooting range in the basement
Lake Union hides a graveyard of historic shipwrecks
Beneath the urban lake’s surface are a multitude of reminders of a different era
Pike Place’s Butterworth Building has pretty much been creepy since day one
The Beaux Arts building started its life as a massive mortuary
The historic, palatial bathroom that no one wanted
You know the pergola in Pioneer Square? It has a defunct potty underneath.
Saint Nicholas School for Girls has led many artsy lives
From a posh prep school to Lakeside to Cornish to Gage Academy
Beacon Hill’s historic Victorian ‘Garden House’ listed for $1.75M
The Turner-Koepf House is on the National Register of Historic Places
The eight-decade history of the Showbox
A look back at the long history of the music venue that’s fueling a campaign to save it
The College Inn is the last off-campus relic of the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition
The Tudor Revival building is, according to legend, inhabited by ghosts
The unassuming Exchange Building holds a shimmering gilt-and-bronze lobby
Designed by John Graham and Associates in 1929, the Exchange Building was kicked off just in time for the U.S. stock market to crash.
Fred Hutch is moving into the historic Lake Union Steam Plant
The historic Lake Union Steam Plant—recognizable from I-5 as the building with the Zymogenetics smoke stacks—is getting a new tenant.
Mt Zion Baptist Church becomes a Seattle landmark
The historic church is officially recognized by the city
The Seattle Tower is a gorgeous exercise in Art Deco flamboyance
Formerly known as the Northern Life Tower, this building was a big deal when it was constructed in the 1920s.
A tour of locals’ Pike Place Market memories
As the city changes, Seattleites remember their history with the landmark.
This Laurelhurst home is a big part of neighborhood history
This former farmhouse and golf club is listed for $3.1 million
The Panama Hotel is both a working hotel and a living museum
Designed by Sabro Ozasa, the Panama Hotel houses the last surviving American sento—and belongings left behind after the internment of Japanese Americans.
The Seattle Center Monorail turns 56: Photos from its first year
The Seattle Center Monorail was "christened" on April 19, 1962.
The Edith Macefield House set to become a permanent part of Ballard Blocks
Rumor had it that the little house was finally coming down—but the developer says it’s sticking around long-term
Classic Ellsworth Storey home listed for $1.9 million
Featuring five bedrooms and a bar
Belltown’s Rendezvous building is full of tales
And ghosts, maybe, if you believe in those
This historic Tudor revival was designed by a woman in 1928
Complete with a turret—and a few upgrades
The many lives of the Ballard Carnegie Library
It may not be vast, but it contains multitudes
The resilient history of Washington Hall
From the Danes to jazz to today
Enumclaw’s historic first church listed for $399K
The century-old former house of worship could be your actual house
The grim history of INS Building
When you’re there, it may be difficult to remember that this dreamy, colorful space was a prison for decades.
Smith Tower’s elevators are going automatic
After 103 years, the elevators will no longer need their operators
Half of a Love Family mansion listed for $1.4 million
Now a townhouse, it preserves a sliver of the free love era
The many phases and faces of the Fremont Trolley Barn
From streetcars to chocolatiers.
The many-storied history of the Mutual Life Building
Pioneer Square’s Mutual Life Building is probably best known today as the home of Magic Mouse Toys, but it’s got a multifarious, compelling past.
The last total eclipse visible from Seattle was in 1860
Here’s what people observed the last time Seattle saw totality.
Looking back on the 1979 solar eclipse in Goldendale, Washington
Archive photos show the Central Washington town during the last Northwest eclipse.
The hidden history of the Arctic Building
With its colorful terra cotta façade and walrus cartouches, the Arctic Club Hotel at the northeastern corner of Third Avenue and Cherry Street is hard to miss. It’s also got a colorful history that spans a century.
Olive Tower clings to life—and affordable housing
Like the building itself, its modern role serving households earning less than 50 percent of the area median income merges Seattle's past and present.
Filed under:
- Map
Washington State’s bummer place names
As much as we love it here, we all know it can be dreary sometimes in the Pacific Northwest—and as it turns out, many of our towns and geographical features have names to match.
The Space Needle turns 55: Photos of the skyline staple’s construction
It’s now arguably the most distinct part of our skyline, but there used to be a Seattle without a Space Needle—and we have the photos to prove it.
The Ramps to Nowhere: Going, but not quite gone
The popular ramps from an unpopular freeway are coming down—slowly.
Central District anti-gentrification art project annotates Martin Luther King, Jr. mural
The project targets "Seattle’s silent racism and gentrification."