Seattle history
How Thomas Pynchon Turned Seattle Into Nazi Germany
Here’s big news for literature buffs: Gravity’s Rainbow, the masterpiece by Thomas Pynchon, Seattle’s most-honored and influential writer, turns out to be a savage act of vengeance against our town, inspired by our 1962 Century 21 Exhibition. “Seattle World’s Fair scenes have been exaggerated, parodied, remixed,” writes University of British Columbia scholar Jeffrey Severs in…
Solutions to Help Small Businesses are a Start
But if your favorite old dive bar is currently struggling, well, drink up
Shocking news that the famous Carnegie Deli is closing in New York. In the late 1990s, when the Village Voice bought Seattle Weekly, my new boss, publisher David Schneiderman, took me to the Carnegie on the (accurate) assumption that a guy from Seattle named “Knute” had never had a real pastrami sandwich. I was polite…
This Forgotten Bridge Once Made an Important Connection
Leschi Bridge was once an essential route for Seattle settlers
You’ve likely stumbled upon it, nearly concealed beneath the brush in Leschi Park, just south of Madrona, and dismissed it as another old, forgotten bridge. But Leschi Bridge, named after Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe, was once part of a route that played a vital role in Seattle transportation, linking settlers along Lake Washington…
The History Behind Green Lake’s Grandstand
Green Lake's abandoned Aqua Theater once dazzled
Strolling around Green Lake these days is generally a peaceful pursuit, with most of the action coming from kids playing in the water, kayakers paddling by or the occasional family of ducks flapping around. But at the lake’s southwestern edge, you’ll find the remnants of a historic theater that made a real splash in its…
Defending History: Historic Sites Worthy of Preservation in Jeopardy
Development continues to threaten heritage structures, Knute Berger says
The annual list of “most endangered” historic properties around the state has been issued by the nonprofit Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. The list is a warning system for important heritage properties that are likely to be demolished or are woefully neglected and need to be saved. This year’s list includes a Woodinville school dating…
Keep Your Eyes Peeled for the Rare “Scenic Drive” Sign
Seattle’s enigmatic reminders of roads less taken
These days, Seattle’s streets are peppered with signs proclaiming road closures, revised routes and reminders not to “block the box.” But keep your eyes peeled and you may spot a rare “Scenic Drive” sign. The signs are the legacies of a 1958 collaboration between the City of Seattle and the Chamber of Commerce, created to…
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper
It's the 40th anniversary of D.B. Cooper’s daring escape, one of Seattle’s most enduring crime myste
A few crumbling $20 bills. An airline boarding pass. A pink parachute. A black, clip-on necktie from J.C. Penney. This is all that remains of a legendary highjacking, and it fits neatly into a cardboard box at the FBI office in Seattle, part of a long-dormant investigation. Dormant, that is, until this past August, when…
How to Not Take Labor Day for Granted (And Still Have Fun)
I’m pretty much slathering on sunscreen as I write this. I cannot wait to enjoy that 79 degree weather I keep hearing about, preferably as close to a large floating vessel or bevy of grilled hot dogs as possible. However, considering the trends of unemployment and cutbacks that define our current historic moment, I do…
Nerd Report: New Illustrated Atlas Traces Seattle’s Physical Evolution
Turns out Google Maps can’t, in fact, do everything. Case in point: It can’t bring the past alive via wonderful illustrated maps—some more than a century old—like the Historical Atlas of Washington and Oregon (University of California Press; $39.95), published this month. Noted historian Derek Hayes, author of several other historical atlases, packs this big,…
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