Pacific Northwest History & Seattle Stories

Feliks Banel

Remembering the big Columbia River flood of 1948

It was 75 years ago this month when the Columbia River flood became one of the Northwest's largest of the 20th century.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Northwest settlers created DIY government in 1843

Legend has it that 174 years ago this week, a large group of Northwest settlers came together for a monumental meeting.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Happy 40th birthday to the Tacoma Dome (or is it DomaTacoma?)

The Tacoma Dome is celebrating its 40th birthday with fun and free activities, but the official selection the name goes back a bit further.

2 years ago

Great Northern Railway's old number 1246 was moved to the Woodland Park Zoo, via Aurora Avenue, in ...

Feliks Banel

Seattle鈥檚 beloved and long-lost steam locomotive is heading home

A beloved, giant artifact that was displayed at the Woodland Park Zoo for nearly 30 years is on its way home to the Seattle area.

2 years ago

L.B. Gilbert

Interior Secretary meets with Indian boarding school survivors in Tulalip

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland met with survivors of the federal Indian boarding school system and their descendants in Tulalip.

2 years ago

Jim Wilke stands at the site of The Penthouse, a legendary Seattle jazz club which operated from 19...

Feliks Banel

Seattle鈥檚 coolest jazz club replaced decades ago by parking garage

In a tiny storefront club on First Avenue at the foot of Cherry Street 60 years ago, jazz history was made, and a local man was there to preserve some

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

鈥楶ublic records request鈥� reveals politicians choices for Record Store Day

Today is the 15th anniversary of the very first 鈥淩ecord Store Day,鈥� to celebrate and support independent retailers of recorded music around the U.S.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Voula鈥檚 recipe includes tasty food, loyal customers, and even Drake

Voula's is an old-school diner along the north side of the Ship Canal, still going strong with a distinctive recipe of tasty breakfasts.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Thrilling boat races once ran on the Sammamish Slough

The Sammamish Slough was the unlikely location of a day of boat races held every April on the body of water connecting Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Long-lost photo found of mysterious shipwreck passenger

The local explorers who located the long-lost 1875 wreck of the steamship PACIFIC off the Washington coast have found another priceless treasure: a photo

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Routes of racism: Civic decision-making and highways at Wing Luke Museum

Standing under the highway on King Street a few days ago, Woodward raised her voice over the roar of the traffic overhead to describe what used to be there.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Remembering ‘The Walla Walla’ wall at the Kingdome

Naming the right field wall the 'Walla Walla' was a brilliant suggestion that plays off a wall being doubled and using a regional name.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Longview celebrates 100 years with festivities, squirrel bridges

The community began building new squirrel bridges about 11 years ago for an annual event called, naturally, Squirrel Fest.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Memorial Stadium鈥檚 success as ‘living memorial’ may have doomed it

'Living memorials' were part of an American movement to memorialize World War II as a break from the past.

2 years ago

This week 210 years ago, Lewis and Clark left Fort Clatsop and headed back home. (AP)...

Feliks Banel

Feliks: Uncovering the buried legacies of Lewis and Clark

Most people think of Fort Clatsop as the final destination of Lewis and Clark, at least one Northwest historian and author disagrees.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Radio Sketch: The Tonquin and despair at the mouth of the Columbia River

The arrival of the Tonquin was the subject of a live historical radio sketch performed on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News to mark the 212th anniversary

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Before it collapsed, WaMu ad campaign was the ‘Friend of the Family’

All the failing banks in the news lately remind so many around the Pacific Northwest of a memorable WaMu ad campaign.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Regional anthem 鈥淰iva! Sea-Tac鈥� celebrates 1990s Seattle culture, good and bad

Over the past few decades, 鈥淰iva! SeaTac鈥� has become something of an anthem for the region, at least among a certain demographic.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Cherry trees in front of Pike Place Market are gone

The City of Seattle removed the storied cherry trees on Pike Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue Tuesday.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Gray Field namesake鈥檚鈥榦xygen ran out before his courage鈥�

The airfield at Fort Lewis is named for a nearly forgotten high-flying aviator from the Evergreen State, with family history here stretching back to the 1830s.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

City pauses Pike Street logging project: Cherry Trees 1, Chainsaws 0

鈥淲e are so grateful to Mayor Bruce Harrell for looking carefully at what can be done,鈥� said Save The Market Entrance president Ruth Danner.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

Removal of Pike Street cherry trees on pause after community feedback

A linear grove of cherry trees more than four decades old in downtown Seattle is slated to be cut down to make way for bike lanes.

2 years ago

Feliks Banel

All Over The Map: Where there’s a will, there’s a Whidbey

The will of one Joseph Whidbey 鈥� a member of Captain Vancouver鈥檚 crew when the British explored Washington 鈥� turned up in some old papers.

2 years ago

The headstone of Richard H. Stanton, the man who named Washington state, is located in Maysville, K...

Feliks Banel

Washingtonians can thank rebel supporter for their state’s name

Were it not for a man imprisoned by the US Government for aiding rebels during the Civil War, the Washington would have been called Columbia.