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Bricks, sidewalk stamps, old fire hydrants — most of us walk past these objects every day without pausing to take a closer look or giving them a second thought. But this might change for readers of a new book by a popular local Instagrammer that鈥檚 all about examining these smaller and often overlooked aspects of Seattle history and discovering the stories hidden within.

Secret Seattle: An Illustrated Guide to the City’s Offbeat and Overlooked History聽is one of to be published in the Pacific Northwest in years, and it鈥檚 likely to be a big seller for the holidays for anyone with even a passing interest in Seattle history and culture.

Author Susanna Ryan grew up in Shoreline and moved to Seattle a decade ago. Even before the pandemic, she liked to go for long walks through different neighborhoods and closely observe the city鈥檚 nooks and crannies at ground level. Ryan is also an illustrator, and in 2017, she started to display her drawings of quirky things she found in Seattle neighborhoods.

Popularity of Ryan鈥檚 drawings and observations led to called, like her Instagram account, Seattle Walk Report: An Illustrated Walking Tour through 23 Seattle Neighborhoods.

Like that earlier book, Secret Seattle has a certain quirkiness, but if you like noticing stuff and learning the stories behind the little things that most people overlook, the book will speak to you. You can thumb through it, skip around, and read short sections about particular things you can see 鈥� if you just take the time to look down.

For instance, if you鈥檙e ever on a stretch of sidewalk and you see barely readable letters embossed into the concrete 鈥� like Susanna Ryan did on a walk through Seattle鈥檚 Beacon Hill neighborhood a few days ago 鈥� it鈥檚 probably a 鈥渟idewalk stamp鈥� from some long-gone construction company.

鈥淚t’s like a little business card,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淚t’s a job well done. You know, 鈥業 paved this whole sidewalk, and now I’m stamping my name in it.鈥� So it’s just cool to see the little patchwork of cement there.鈥�

The name in that Beacon Hill sidewalk is 鈥淣.D. Johnson.鈥� That鈥檚 not a company Ryan is familiar with, but in the research she鈥檚 done on other names, she says most of the sidewalk stamps in Seattle date to around 1900 to 1910. Which makes sense, since that early part of the 20th century is when the residential neighborhoods in Seattle we know today were really starting to take shape.

鈥淪ome sidewalk paver a hundred years ago just dunked their [name stamper] in there and had no idea that we’d be standing here admiring it over a hundred years later,鈥� Ryan said.

Bricks galore

A few blocks from that N.D. Johnson sidewalk stamp is a parking strip that鈥檚 been partially paved with old bricks 鈥� and many of the old bricks have the manufacturer鈥檚 name clearly visible. Ryan pointed out a brick that said 鈥淐layburn,鈥� which she says was made near Spokane, one that said 鈥淒enny-Renton,鈥� and one that just said 鈥淏allard.鈥�

Susanna Ryan really likes old bricks.

鈥淚 could write an entire book about bricks and do all the research and stuff,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淚t’s just amazing.鈥�

Bricks are, literally, the building blocks of certain parts of society 鈥� buildings, streets, street gutters, chimneys, and so on. The section about bricks in Secret Seattle goes into detail about the history and the context of locally made bricks, but it鈥檚 not an almanac of esoteric facts; there are cool origin stories about the designers and manufacturers that also trace the history of the city.

For instance, that 鈥淏allard鈥� brick was made in factory聽, and the factory where the 鈥淒enny-Renton鈥� specimens were made 鈥� in the South King County community of Taylor 鈥� could produce a quarter million bricks a day, which in 1908 was more than any other brick factory in the United States.

It鈥檚 the 鈥渘earbyness鈥� and accessibility of this kind of hyper-observational history that really grabs Ryan鈥檚 attention and that fuels her imagination.

鈥淭he thing that really appeals to me about this is that it’s just right here on a random street,鈥� Ryan said, admiring the number and variety of bricks in the Beacon Hill parking strip. 鈥淵ou know, we’re not anywhere fancy, we鈥檙e not at some tourist destination, but it’s like a tiny brick museum right here.鈥�

鈥淎nd that sort of history that you can see right before your eyes feels so much different than reading about it in a history book or having someone tell you, 鈥極h yeah, the Denny Party聽came and blah-blah-blah,’鈥� Ryan continued. 鈥淚t’s like it’s living and it’s here and somehow, some way, these bricks have survived all these years to end up on this random Beacon Hill street.鈥�

鈥淏eautiful stuff,鈥� she added.

And the 鈥渂eautiful stuff鈥� highlighted in each section of Secret Seattle is illustrated with Susanna Ryan鈥檚 black and white line drawings 鈥� original artwork, which, it could be argued, captures this particular moment in the early 21st century better than any photographs could.

鈥淚 cannot shade for the life of me,鈥� the self-taught artist Ryan said. 鈥淚 could never draw the bowl of fruit in art class the way that they wanted me to. I’ve always just had this particular kind of style, and it’s been really refined over the years. But in some ways, I feel like it’s like the style of the 鈥榖est 5th grader in the class鈥� or something.鈥�

鈥淚t’s not quite right, but it also gets the point across well enough,鈥� she noted.

Fire hydrants and beauty in the mundane

A few blocks east and down the hill from the inadvertent brick museum is one of Susanna Ryan鈥檚 favorite fire hydrants 鈥� yes, you read that correctly, one of her favorite fire hydrants 鈥� in the whole city.

As the vintage street survivor came into view, it was clear that even someone who considers themselves a keen observer of gritty details and bits and pieces of old infrastructure would be taken aback by this particular specimen 鈥� with its fluted sides that give it an almost neoclassical look, its chipped and peeling dark green paint, and a generous patina of rust.

鈥淚t almost feels like a caricature of a fire hydrant, or like if you looked up 鈥榝ire hydrant鈥� in the dictionary, that would be the picture,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淚t’s like your quintessential kind of fire hydrant there. I just love it.鈥�

What sets apart Susanna Ryan鈥檚 approach to old fire hydrants 鈥� or to bricks, or whatever she examines 鈥� is her attention to details that would be mundane were it not for her curiosity, imagination, and creativity. Where most people might not even notice a particular fire hydrant, Ryan sees a whole universe of backstory, of slightly twisted humanity 鈥� and even some good old-fashioned 鈥淪eattle Process.鈥�

鈥淭o think about how for everything you see in Seattle there was all sorts of mundane meetings and memos and people discussing the merits of like this fire hydrant over that fire hydrant, or whatever it happens to be,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淚t’s just funny to think about. We kind of take it for granted, all these little things on our streets, and don’t really realize the bureaucratic nightmare that brought them to be.鈥�

It鈥檚 a clich茅 these days to say that Seattle is changing or vanishing. It is, definitely, but that鈥檚 聽鈥� and thank goodness, some might say, especially those who appreciate the way Seattle seems to reinvent itself every generation or two. A city that changes dramatically 鈥� but that holds onto some core of its identity thanks to tangible aspects of its architecture and layout 鈥� is a city with a dramatic past, a dynamic present, and an unknowable and exciting future.

And that鈥檚 all good, but how would Susanna Ryan feel if she went to visit that cool old fire hydrant one day and it was gone?

鈥淚 know that nothing is forever, and I know that fire hydrants aren’t the defining thing that makes a city worth living in or whatever,鈥� Ryan said.

But if it just disappeared, Ryan says she “would be a little bit sad at how unceremonious it was, not like I think we need to have a party to celebrate the end of the life of this fire hydrant or anything.鈥�

鈥淚t’s just a little tiny change,鈥� she clarified. 鈥淏ut the little details are so much of what make up a city and people’s experiences in their neighborhoods and stuff.鈥�

Susanna Ryan is philosophical about Seattle and about how her book might influence those who read it, whatever their age. History, when it really connects with an audience, can provide a potent mix of information, comfort, and discomfort 鈥� but hopefully also inspiration.

鈥淓verybody, depending on how old they are and how long they’ve been here, has a completely different idea of when that old, good Seattle was,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淚t’s completely different for everybody. My 鈥極ld Seattle鈥� isn’t my mom’s 鈥極ld Seattle,鈥� and wasn’t her mom’s 鈥極ld Seattle.’鈥�

鈥淐ities change and things change,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淚 think it’s up to every generation to find what they find and care about, and foster that for the next group. Time marches on.鈥�

Georgetown exhibition, book signing details

Secret Seattle: An Illustrated Guide to the City’s Offbeat and Overlooked History by Susanna Ryan is published by Sasquatch Books and widely available from booksellers. Ryan will be signing copies of her books at Fantagraphics Books in Georgetown on Saturday, Aug. 14, at 5 p.m.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.