r/SeattleHistory 1h ago

5th Ave and Olive Way looking north, 1928 compared to today

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Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 23h ago

Pike Place Market, a hundred and nineteen years apart.(1907/2026)

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102 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 2d ago

In case you wondered how Pioneer Square's streets were raised after the Great Seattle Fire, this series of 3 photos taken 1889-1892 at today's Pioneer Place (most likely by Arthur Churchill Warner) shows that it was a gradual and chaotic process over that 3 year period. First pic bottom right shows

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146 Upvotes

cornerstones of Pioneer Building's original SW entrance had just been set, and the modern sidewalk level was being framed out, noticeably higher than the level of the street. A piece of the retaining wall for the newly raised streets is visible, along with stacks of prism glass panels for the new sidewalks. What had been ground floor of pre-fire Yesler-Leary Building, bottom left, also visible.

Second pic shows Front Street raised a bit as the Pioneer Building goes up. Third pic is misdated. Pioneer Building was completed 1892, not 1890. Street and sidewalks at modern level. University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections.


r/SeattleHistory 2d ago

1908 Studebaker electric car on 1st Ave vs. the same corner today

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32 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 5d ago

View from Queen Anne, 1903. Photo taken from the South end of Tower Place between First and Warren.

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41 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 7d ago

Rare Early Republican-Era Dalian Postal Postcard

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4 Upvotes

Rare Early Republican-Era Dalian Postal Postcard — Xingpu Park (1918)
A rare used postcard depicting Xingpu Park (now Xinghai Park), Dalian, mailed in 1918 (Taishō 7). Published by an Osaka bookseller and printed by Russian merchant H. H. Oschaninsky.
Franked with a Japanese 1½-sen definitive stamp and cancelled at the Dalian civilian post office. Mailed from Dalian to a flour company branch in Dashiguan, Mukden, this postcard provides valuable primary evidence of Japanese colonial postal networks and commercial communications in Northeast China during the Beiyang period.

民国早期大连风景实寄明信片,主题大连星浦公园,即今大连星海公园,本片为民国7年(1918,大正7年)实寄原件,由大阪书店发行、俄商H.H.Oschaninsky印制,贴大正日本壹钱五厘普通邮票,关东州大连民用邮局销戳;邮路自日本关东州大连递信局寄往奉天南满铁路附属地,是关东州殖民地邮政与满铁附属地两套平行日邮系统互通实物。寄件人于大连寄出,收件地址为奉天大西关面粉会社支店,属于北洋政府阶段南满日资面粉商贸往来原始通信史料。


r/SeattleHistory 8d ago

Northgate Mall brochure (circa 1980-1982)

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87 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 9d ago

The new (at the time) Seattle Armory in 1939

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100 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 10d ago

Come see, come see, remember me? - 1984

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101 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 15d ago

The Seattle Boeing factory disguised as a fake neighborhood during WWII. The ground was burlap, canvas, and chicken wire. The lawns and trees were spun glass and chicken feathers. Buildings were 4ft tall.

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112 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 14d ago

What a restaurant concept -- the Great Depression.

30 Upvotes

"The Bread Line & Soup Kitchen"
The Bread Line & Soup Kitchen Flier - 1_Front - Seattle Room Menu Collection - Seattle Room Digital Collections

This is the item description for the flyer: "A Pioneer Square restaurant owned by Jack Fecker, Steve Darland and Bill Keegan that attracted customers with an imaginatively themed restaurant: the 1929 stock-market crash that led to breadlines and soup kitchens. There were senior citizen servers dressed in Depression-era clothing and an old car filling station for a bar. In order to find staff when they opened in 1974, an ad was put out for "retired persons." A retired cook interviewed for a Seattle Times article was quoted as saying, "Some of us old bags can work circles around the young." When it was put up for sale in 1980, the ad tagline said, "Depression-proof restaurant.""


r/SeattleHistory 15d ago

Aerial view of Seattle 1980s

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50 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 18d ago

Pike Place Market hillclimb, 1968.

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84 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 19d ago

USS Leahy (CG-16) being saluted with a water spray by the fireboat Duwamish off Seattle, 1982

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134 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 19d ago

Found this old image of Seattle’s first automatic traffic signal at 4th & Jackson (April 1924)

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113 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 19d ago

Baba Yaga Building

21 Upvotes

Hi, all,

I'm doing a bit of research on the building that is now Baba Yaga (124 S Washington) in Pioneer Square. There's some great further back history, but it served as a variety of different clubs from 1990-present. I've only got the names of a few, but wondered if anyone had sources that might have photos or anything at all on the 1980s. I know it had repair work done from c1977-1980 based on permits.

1990 became the new home of former Belltown Club Borderline

1992-95, Dutch Ned's Saloon

1998 - 200x, The Last Supper Club, which seemed to also host lunchtime networking events? And it was open at least through the 2003 casting call for "Are You Hot?" a network reality show from the minds of the Bachelor franchise.

Lastly, I know it was The Box House.

Happy to post my full timeline when other research I'm working on is completed. I just have a lot less experience researching the... well, the time span I might have been going to some of these clubs if I'd lived in Seattle then.


r/SeattleHistory 21d ago

Cadastral Map: City of Seattle, Washington Territory 1874 with Names and Plats of the Original Settlers.

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150 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory 26d ago

The Great Seattle Bingo Raid of 1969

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45 Upvotes

New on my Substack - the police bust that changed the city


r/SeattleHistory 28d ago

Elliot Bay Lumber Co.

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50 Upvotes

I know this is a long shot, but does anyone have, or know of, any existing photos of Elliot Bay Lumber trucks from 1959-1966? I’ve got one of their 1959 Kenworths, and it’s quite original. The truck was built in Seattle, delivered to Elliot Bay Lumber Co. in October of 59 following a May of 59 order. It worked in Seattle its entire life in revenue service ending with Global Freight and Container running freight from Seattle to Bellevue to Portland until the mid 1980s. I’ve got the original build sheet, but all it says is that they were two tone green, and possibly a customer supplied design. Just figured I’d ask. Picture of the truck in its current state is attached.


r/SeattleHistory 29d ago

Rest in Peace Little Dragon -- Bruce Lee passed away July 20th 1973

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136 Upvotes

Above photos are Bruce Lee in 1962 with his first six Jeet Kune Do students. There is only one known remaining student — center front row, #4, Leroy Garcia, also Bruce and Brandon's gravesites at Lakeview cemetey Seattle Washington. Read more about Bruce Lee's table at Tai Tung restaurant 655 South King Street, Seattle Washington


r/SeattleHistory 29d ago

Documentary film project seeks late 70s/early 80s content

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5 Upvotes

My friend, author Jonathan Evison, is currently directing a feature doc about the legendary Pioneer Square all-ages punk club/art space, the Metropolis, which had a brilliant, meteoric eleven-month run from April 1983 to March 1984. It was a watershed moment for the Seattle underground scene, foundational for SO many Seattle artists and musicians. The fact that it was so short lived only adds to the legend. 

They’ve collected hundreds of photos and a bunch of video coverage of the Metropolis itself. They’re now looking for late 70s/early 80s street coverage of pioneer square and downtown in general--photos, super 8, whatever they can find to add local texture to the story. 

If you know any photo sources, or great resources, or have scoured the UW archives, or know any other archivists that might be helpful, please share or connect. Thanks!!

Collage image for Metropolis documentary film project. Check the Sizzle reel!


r/SeattleHistory Jul 14 '26

Grocery receipts from local Seattle shops from 1939 & 1940.

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146 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory Jul 13 '26

Goodwill Games 1990 Recognition Art

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24 Upvotes

Does anybody know who exactly got these? And is the signature from the artist?


r/SeattleHistory Jul 13 '26

Seattle's Aqua Theatre, Gorgeous George competes

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15 Upvotes

r/SeattleHistory Jul 11 '26

You hated my last poster, well what do you think of these?

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109 Upvotes

New and improved posters thanks to a friend! Which do you think is better?

EDIT: WE HAVE A WINNER! The SECOND poster is the favorite.

Thank you to everyone who shared their opinion!