History

Aurora Tour

Aurora Avenue North: vile but vital, yes? Whether you love it or hate it, Aurora still supasses, in my opinion, that lousy stretch of I-5 from downtown to Mountlake Terrace, in terms of efficiency. If you're a history buff and you'd like to learn a little about Aurora's humble beginnings this Saturday, take a look at the following walking tour, offered through the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). A little north, but...Aurora! Aurora: Life on Seattle's Mother Road Thousands of…

Continue ReadingAurora Tour

See ‘Now and Then’ at MOHAI free on Tuesday

Our favorite neighborhood historian, Paul Dorpat, wrote to tell us that the "Now and Then" repeat photography exhibit at the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is winding down and will close when the museum closes its McCurdy Park location in Montlake in June. If you haven't gone to it yet, you've got an opportunity to see it for free on Tuesday evening (April 24) from 5:30PM to 8:30PM.   The "Now and Then" exhibit features Paul's time lapse videos he took…

Continue ReadingSee ‘Now and Then’ at MOHAI free on Tuesday

Happy Birthday, Wallingford!

According to HistoryLink.org, exactly 142 years ago today (June 3, 1869), Philip Ritz purchased 80 acres of land from the federal government for a mere $1.25 per acre. His purchase stretched from what we know today as Woodlawn Avenue N. to Meridian Avenue N. and from N. 40th to N. 45th Streets. A year later, Dexter Horton bought 160 acres adjacent to Ritz's land, which is now N. 42nd to 57th Street, and from Meridian all the way to 5th Avenue…

Continue ReadingHappy Birthday, Wallingford!

Fisticuff Follow-up

  • Post author:
  • Post category:History

In response to Paul Dorpat's Wallingford Fisticuffs post, a flashback to a 1952 high school brawl here in Wallingford, Adam asked "Do you know where, exactly, on 42nd or Woodlawn that fisticuffs photo was taken?" Adam guessed "on 42nd looking south at the house on the southeast corner of 42nd and Ashworth." (See map of his guess) Paul and John did their own research on this. "I took John to the scene of the fight," Paul said, "which I had discovered…

Continue ReadingFisticuff Follow-up

1912 Baist Map of Wallingford (and Seattle)

  • Post author:
  • Post category:HistoryPI

Paul Dorpat, Wallingford's official unofficial historian is at it again. This time, he worked with Ron Edge to scan in a huge map of Seattle from 1912, breaking it down into individual PDFs for careful viewing. What's amazing to us is how much the basic layout and grid of the city was already well established by that time (we'd always thought of Seattle as "newer" than that), but it's also fun to see how street names and such have changed. Take…

Continue Reading1912 Baist Map of Wallingford (and Seattle)

Wallingford Fisticuffs: 1952

Paul Dorpat and John Sundsten sent us this classic shot taken in Wallingford, 1952. It appeared in the North Central Outlook along with the story below. BRAINS, NOT BRAWN, is supposed to be one of the essential differences between man and animal. The ability to reason has enabled man to rise above other earthly creatures.  But he has never been entirely tamed, and reason failing, resorts to brawn in an attempt to solve his problems. Little boys, like grown men, and…

Continue ReadingWallingford Fisticuffs: 1952

Geography Winners

  • Post author:
  • Post category:HistoryPI

If you haven't checked out the responses to Paul Dorpat's historical puzzler (he posted photos taken around the turn of the century in Wallingford and challenged readers to figure out where they were taken), you should. It will make you see the neighborhood in a fresh light. And if you entered and won (we chose seven winners in all!), be sure to e-mail your address to [email protected] so we can drop off your prizes. We'll be loading DVD's and jars of…

Continue ReadingGeography Winners