Jade D

  • New Additions to our Black Culture and History Collection

    In July 2022, the Library began work on a Digital Heritage Grant funded by the Washington State Library to increase the availability of historic digitized materials in our Black Culture and History Collection. This month, we are wrapping up work on the grant and are excited to share some of our new additions! Thanks to… Continue reading

  • Explore Pacific Northwest History with Newly Digitized Photographs

    More than 500 new historic photographs from our Northwest Photograph Collection are now available through our digital collections. These photographs feature images of Washington, Oregon and Alaska spanning from the late 1800s to the 1970s and include shots from prominent local photographers such as Asahel Curtis, Webster & Stevens and Frank Jacobs. We’ve rounded up… Continue reading

  • Covid-19 Community Collection

    Are you interested in helping the Library’s Special Collections Department document history? Please consider contributing to our new Covid-19 Community Collection! We are asking you to tell us (and show us) how the events of the past few months have impacted you. We are looking for stories, photographs, signs, artwork, short videos and other materials… Continue reading

  • Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection

    October is American Archives Month and we are celebrating with the completion of a new digital collection: the Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection. Donald Schmechel was a Seattle Public Library board member who, in the 1980s, created a project to interview prominent figures in Pacific Northwest History. Schmechel raised funding for the project, volunteered his… Continue reading

  • New Digital Collection Highlights Lives of Seattle Pioneers

    This month we’ve launched a new digital collection which reveals a glimpse into the personal lives of some of Seattle’s early pioneers. The Lu Jacobson Collection of Latimer and Denny Family Material includes materials focusing on Alexander Latimer, his wife Sarah Chesney Latimer and their five daughters: Narcissa Latimer Denny, Eliza Alice Latimer Fowler, Harriet… Continue reading

  • New to our digital collections: Seattle’s Town Crier Newspaper

    We’ve just added over 1,200 issues from Seattle’s local arts periodical, The Town Crier, to our digital collections. The Town Crier was a weekly magazine focusing on Seattle’s news, arts and culture between 1910 and 1938. Over its lifetime, the paper included coverage of the work of individuals such as Frank Kunishige, Edward S. Curtis, Ella… Continue reading

  • New to our Digital Collections: Early Seattle Glass Plate Negatives

    Curious to explore rarely seen photographs from the life of a Seattle family from over 100 years ago? Now you can with 184 photographs from our Early Seattle Glass Plate Negative Collection, recently digitized and added to our online offerings. The collection features images of Seattle homes and buildings, the town of Index, the Cedar… Continue reading

  • Celebrating the Lake Washington Ship Canal Centennial

    Did you know the Ballard Locks turns 100 this year? In recognition of the anniversary, we’ve combed through our archives and digitized some of the most interesting maps, photos, postcards, correspondence, and more related to the history of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. You can find the collection at www.spl.org/shipcanal. Continue reading

  • New to our Digital Collections: Seattle Mail and Herald

    Want to explore Seattle headlines from over 100 years ago? Take a look at our new Seattle Mail and Herald digital collection. The Mail and Herald was a weekly paper discussing the city’s news, politics, society events, entertainment and more. The paper included articles on topics such as Seattle’s regrades, the Alaskan Gold Rush, the… Continue reading

  • Home for the Holidays

    Have you ever wanted to explore the history behind some of Seattle’s unique bungalow homes? This month we launched a new digital collection featuring the iconic Bungalow Magazine that lets you do just that. Bungalow Magazine was published in Seattle between 1912 and 1918 and features homes constructed in the Puget Sound region and other… Continue reading

  • Golden Potlatch: The First Seafair

    You’re probably familiar with the Seafair festival that Seattle holds every summer in July, but have you ever heard of its predecessor — the Golden Potlatch? Started in 1911, this annual celebration served as the inspiration for the Seafair festival that we know today. Continue reading

  • New Ways to Research Neighborhood History

    Curious to learn more about your neighborhood’s past? This month, we’ve added a great new resource to our Neighborhood History Project – The Northwest Subject Index Collection. This collection contains selected cards from the Seattle Room Northwest Subject Index and Post-Intelligencer Index. These cards contain citations which point to books, newspaper articles and archival collections… Continue reading

  • The Story Behind a Modern Marvel: The Seattle Space Needle

      Fifty-five years ago this month, construction began on one of Seattle’ s most prominent icons – the Space Needle.  Our newest digital collection, the George Gulacsik Photograph Collection, documents the construction of the Needle from its start on April 17, 1961 to its completion in 1962 with the opening of the World’s Fair. Continue reading

  • Lady Librarians of Seattle

    2016 marks the 125th anniversary of The Seattle Public Library. After it was adopted as a department of the city in 1890, the Library opened its first reading room in Pioneer Square on April 8, 1891. To honor this milestone, we will be posting a series of articles here about the Library’s history and life in… Continue reading

  • Seattle’s Presidential Visits of the Past

    -posted by Jade D. In honor of Presidents’ Day, we took a look through our digital collections to find mentions of some of Seattle’s earliest presidential visits. We’ve highlighted the first five below – take a look! October 11, 1880 marked the date of the first president to visit Seattle with the arrival of Rutherford… Continue reading

  • 125th Anniversary Series: Seattle in 1891

    -posted by Jade D. “Changing lives. Creating the Future.” 2016 marks the 125th anniversary of The Seattle Public Library. After it was adopted as a department of the city in 1890, the Library opened its first reading room in Pioneer Square on April 8, 1891. To honor this milestone, we will be posting a series… Continue reading

  • Yuletide Cheer from the Archives

    ~posted by Jade D. In the library’s digital collections, we have a wealth of materials (from photographs and postcards to artwork and newspapers) which give a glimpse into Christmas celebrations of the past. Continue reading

  • A Taste of Turkey from the Seattle Room Menu Collection

    ~posted by Jade D. Looking for inspiration for your Thanksgiving menu? Take a look at our Seattle Room Menu Collection to start gathering ideas for your turkey dinner from some of Seattle’s historic restaurants. Continue reading