Most archives have hard-to-classify items that don’t fit neatly into existing record series or collections. Sometimes these items can be interesting as artifacts or may contain valuable information, or both! Here at SMA, such items often find a home in our Ephemera collection. Ephemera is a great collection to browse… [ Keep reading ]
SMA’s photograph holdings include over 1.5 million photographic images of City of Seattle projects and personnel. The images can be a real treasure trove for anyone doing historical research or investigating their family history, but would be even more useful if more of the people depicted were identified. Since City… [ Keep reading ]
It’s back-to-school time! Included in the archives are many examples of students writing to city officials on topics important to them. Here’s just a few of our favorites. In June 1952, Girl Scout Troop 413 sent a petition to the city asking for the improvement of Lucile Street between 18th… [ Keep reading ]
The Bumbershoot arts event was first organized in 1971 and for its first two years was named simply “Festival ‘71” and “Festival ‘72.” By 1973, the event had grown much bigger and organizers felt that it needed a more distinctive name. Lists of handwritten words and phrases that seem to… [ Keep reading ]
SMA’s holdings include a set of issues of Seattle Municipal News, the newsletter of the Municipal League. The News covered local government at the city, county, and state levels, including observations of activity and policies in all departments on topics ranging from traffic to elections. SMA’s collection is not complete,… [ Keep reading ]
Did you know SMA holds annual reports from multiple city departments, some going back to the late 1800s? They can be excellent sources for researching departmental projects and priorities over time, revealing the successes and struggles of city work as Seattle grew year by year. One unique early example is… [ Keep reading ]
Pike Place Market celebrates its 119th birthday this year! The origins of the market can be traced to Ordinance 16636 passed on August 5, 1907, designating a portion of “Pike Place” as a location that could be used “for the sale of garden, farm and other food products from wagons,… [ Keep reading ]
Textual records from a recent Police Department accession have been processed and many new collections are available for research! The largest series is the Subject Files (Record Series 6403-01), which cover a wide variety of subject matter, including DWI enforcement, precinct buildings, traffic management, drill teams, and the annual police… [ Keep reading ]
Regular complaints have been made over the years about the noise made by early morning garbage pickup. For example, in 1941, the manager of the Malloy Apartments in the University District relayed grumbles from his tenants that “the big trucks roar up the alley, the men talk loud and beat… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle’s long-running summer festival Seafair has been an annual tradition for over 75 years. The first Seafair celebration took place in August 1950 and featured parades, boat races, Fleet Week, a royal court, pirates, a new Aqua Theater on Green Lake with synchronized swimming performances by the Aqua Follies, and… [ Keep reading ]
