History
Find your Perfect Throwback Cocktail
These 10 drinks may not be top of mind, but all pack a punch as well as some colorful history
Many are saying once the pandemic fades, we’ll experience a Roaring ’20s decade similar to 100 years ago. So, with some downtime to prepare, why not start perfecting your cocktail game now? These 10 concoctions come from a vintage bar guide from Glenn Shaw Creations — supposedly from the 1950s — found in an antique…
These Cold War Artifacts Feel Eerily Relevant in 2018
A time capsule museum exhibit examines the impacts of citizen-led diplomacy during the Cold War.
If it’s eerie to view an exhibit of historical artifacts about a subject still dominating headlines today—say, what to do if a nuclear bomb strikes Seattle—it’s vaguely reassuring to note that ordinary citizens at the time continued to push for peace however they could. Among the many carefully curated items in the exhibit Glasnost &…
How the Ballard Locks Changed Seattle Forever
As we celebrate 100 years since the construction of the Ballard locks and ship canal, we look back on how carving out Seattle’s waterways forever reshaped our landscape and economy.
The site where the Ballard locks were to be built needed to be kept dry, so a cofferdam was erected around the construction area, seen in this photo taken in 1915.
Henry Art Gallery Welcomes an Account of Transgender History
'Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects' explores the presence of local gender non-conforming communities
The Henry Art Gallery will host the second iteration of Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects beginning Saturday, August 13. (The first exhibit took place at the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries in the spring of 2015.) The upcoming show, which explores the challenges of discovering and researching an under-historicized culture, is part of an…
How Elephant Car Wash Became an Unforgettable Icon
The rotating pink neon sign is said to be one of the most photographed landmarks in Seattle
You know what they say: Washing your car is the surest way to bring on rain. If that’s the case, many of Seattle’s drizzly days must be caused by Elephant Car Wash. The business traces its roots back to the 1940s, when Richmond Beach native Eldon Anderson and his business partners opened the Five Minute…
Knute Berger Reads from His New History of the Space Needle
The Space Needle’s writer in residence, and our own editor at large Knute Berger, has just published Space Needle: The Spirit of Seattle. The 50th-anniversary history follows the Needle from a cocktail-napkin sketch to a Life magazine cover story, exploring both weird trivia (the builders who worked atop the Needle never wore harnesses!) and all…