Seattle Artifact

Pieces of a Ferry: The Story of the Kalakala

Pieces of a Ferry: The Story of the Kalakala

Remembering 'the workhorse of Puget Sound'

People often ask how I manage to find so many historical treasures, and quite honestly, it’s often just a matter of dumb luck. Case in point: Several months back I decided to stop at a random garage sale while out running errands. Nothing initially grabbed my eye, but on the way out I noticed an…

The First Sculptor of Seattle

The First Sculptor of Seattle

James Wehn's work can still be seen all over the city

My first encounter with the work of James Wehn occurred in the 1980s during a family trip to the Seattle Center. At some point that day we found ourselves walking around in the nearby Belltown neighborhood when someone in the group pointed to a statue of Chief Seattle. The 400-pound bronze statue sits at Tilikum…

The Performance Art of Goddess Kring

The Performance Art of Goddess Kring

Shannon Kringen retains her colorful and quirky personality from her public access tv show

Of all the personalities on local public access, though, perhaps one of the most memorable was Shannon Kringen — the colorful pagan woman whose Goddess Kring show featured stream-of-consciousness monologues combined with naked performance art. Kringen recently announced that she had uncovered a large cache of VHS tapes containing all episodes of her show, generating some renewed interest in this bygone era of TV. The discovery of these artifacts led me to reach out to her to learn more about her interesting story.

Teatro ZinZanni is Seattle’s Moulin Rouge

Teatro ZinZanni is Seattle’s Moulin Rouge

The cabaret is celebrating 25 years

The real star of the show, though, was the tent itself. Known as “Palais Nostalgie,” the 285-seat spiegeltent is an antique cabaret tent decked out in red-velvet curtains, mirrored walls, and carved wooden booths. Originally used as a traveling pavilion in the early 1900s, it is one of the few surviving such tents in existence. Norm Langill, the creator of Teatro ZinZanni, first encountered one during a trip to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. He was instantly transformed by the spiegeltent’s mystique, and after learning about their history and how they were being used for dinner cabarets throughout Europe, he deftly managed to acquire one and have it shipped here to Seattle.

Tools Of The Trade

Tools Of The Trade

THE STORY OF LLOYD LOVEGREN AND THE ICONIC MOUNT BAKER TUNNEL

Long-time residents will recall driving westbound on the I-90 floating bridge and seeing those massive concrete portals just before entering the Mount Baker tunnel. The iconic façade welcomes those about to pass through the tunnel with the phrase, “City of Seattle Portal of the North Pacific,” shown prominently in the middle and three relief panels…

Artifacts: Reliving Almost Live!

Artifacts: Reliving Almost Live!

On the air with John Keister

Once upon a time, during the halcyon days of network television, a Saturday night staple for many area residents was a Seattle sketch comedy show that aired on KING-5. Taped in front of a live audience, each episode began with the host delivering his opening monologue. As he walked out onstage, an “On Air” sign…

The birth of pre-funk

The birth of pre-funk

a look at Seattle’s first real citywide Mardi Gras

According to the online slang compendium Urban Dictionary, the term “pre-funk” is defined as “an informal social gathering that takes place prior to the official ceremony, or social gathering, usually involving intoxicating activities and generally resulting in inebriation.” Further research shows that it’s actually a regional phrase, specific to the Pacific Northwest, and is a…

Seattle Artifacts: The Mystery of Chief Seattle’s Death Mask

Seattle Artifacts: The Mystery of Chief Seattle’s Death Mask

Is it real? Where did it come from?

In different parts of the world, and throughout the course of history, death has been memorialized in a variety of different ways. One of the more intriguing was death masks. Typically, a wax or plaster cast was made of a deceased person’s face, which then served as a model for sculptors when creating statues and busts.  …

Seattle Artifacts: The Derelict League

Seattle Artifacts: The Derelict League

An obscure, amateur baseball league grew from Seattle’s hippie culture

Somewhere, deep in the archives of local sports history, sits a curious entry regarding a forgotten baseball league that once dominated Seattle’s playfields and ballparks. You will not find any trading cards for this particular franchise, nor will you find any of its memorabilia on eBay. The top players were never recruited to the major…

Seattle Artifacts: A Man of History, Walt Crowley, Influenced Seattle’s Future and Preserved Its Past

Seattle Artifacts: A Man of History, Walt Crowley, Influenced Seattle’s Future and Preserved Its Past

Crowley worked tirelessly to promote civil liberties for people of all backgrounds and wasn’t afraid to reach across the political aisle for solutions

Nestled slightly above the hustle and bustle of Pike Place Market sits the office headquarters for HistoryLink, which has provided Washington state history for online readers since 1998. It predates Wikipedia by more than three years. My first visit there happened after a chance lunch encounter with Marie McCaffrey, the site’s cofounder and executive director. …

Seattle Artifacts: The Spotify of its Day

Seattle Artifacts: The Spotify of its Day

The Multiphone was Puget Sound’s first streaming music service

Deep in the heart of Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood sits a turn-of-the-century brick building that was originally used as horse stables for a nearby racetrack. Its restored interior now serves as a museum of sorts, with an eclectic mishmash of antique coin-operated machines, vintage signs and old Seattle memorabilia. The curator of this unique collection is…

Seattle Artifacts: Crime, Politics and Pinball

Seattle Artifacts: Crime, Politics and Pinball

Competing factions resorted to bombs during Seattle’s pinball war

Back in the 1950s, Seattle was rocked by a series of late-night bombings that were connected to regional crime syndicates battling for control over the city’s lucrative pinball market. In this article — my first for “Seattle” magazine — I take a look at how a small trove of brass amusement licenses discovered during a…

Meet Brad Holden, Seattle’s Unofficial Historian

Meet Brad Holden, Seattle’s Unofficial Historian

Virtually anything that represents the past is fair game

Historian and author Brad Holden holds an original Prohibition-era closure notification police would post on businesses caught selling alcohol.

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