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Transportation Solutions to Look Forward To
Reducing car traffic takes persistence, determination and innovation. Here are three hot new technol
NOW Many big employers, such as hospitals, build parking garages and charge employees to park in them. But garages cost millions of dollars to construct and they encourage people to drive. Enter Seattle-based Parkio, which offers a way for employers to discourage driving while encouraging alternate transportation. Instead of a monthly fee, Parkio’s software tools…
Solutions for Stressed Seattle Commuters
Eco-conscious (and frugal) Seattleites are finding alternatives to car usage, from the basic to the
ELECTRIC COMPANYCharging stations are popping up all over the city, making it easier for Seattleites to turn to green, clean electric-powered cars. Perhaps you’ve considered buying an electric car, only to be haunted by “range anxiety”—the fear that your battery will die without a charging station in sight. In Seattle, that’s becoming less and less…
Gotcha! 3 Parking Rules to Remember
These little-known laws will get you a ticket in Seattle faster than you think.
Every month, 97 Seattle Police Department parking enforcement officers print around 45,000 citations (about 7 percent of the city’s total population). While most tickets are for commonsense infractions—the most common: not paying or letting your time expire—there are a few lesser-known ways to end up with the dreaded envelope tucked under your wiper. Seattle Municipal…
The Big Idea: Transportation Edition
What locals would do to fix Seattle's transporation problems, if they had a blank check.
If money were no object, what single thing would you do to improve transportation in the region? We put that question to dozens of local transportation thinkers and limited their responses to 150 words—short answers to a long-debated question. Here are a few; add your own idea in the comments section below, or write to…
The Evolution of Seattle’s 520 Bridge
Big changes are under way on the 520 bridge, the longest floating bridge on Earth.
Just when you thought cross-lake commuting couldn’t get any more fun, tolling on the S.R. 520 bridge went into effect. Now, crossing the floating bridge can set you back as much as $5 one way, depending on the time of day and whether you have a prepaid “Good to Go!” pass affixed to your windshield….
A Fair to Remember
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Seattle's 1962 World's Fair.
Fifty years ago, Seattle threw a party for the world. The World’s Fair—called The Century 21 Exposition—was a celebration of Space Age innovation at a time of hope and futuristic yearnings. Our city, once regarded by many as a muddy Wild West outpost, was thrust into the world’s spotlight, suddenly becoming sophisticated and cutting edge….
Seattle Remembers the Japanese Internment
Seventy years ago this month, hundreds of Bainbridge Island residents were given 6 days to leave the
A wrenching chapter in our region’s history was written 70 years ago this month: the internment of thousands of Japanese Americans. In 1942, in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, amidst war hysteria, racism and fears of sabotage, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing the evacuation of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry (two-thirds…
Cruise Ship Control
Disney Cruise Line pulls into the port on the Seattle waterfront this spring. Do these behemoth boat
They pour into Seattle by the hundreds of thousands: cruise ship passengers from all over the world, clamoring to board floating cities for slo-mo luxury tours of Puget Sound and points beyond. Seattle has become a major launching spot for cruise ships setting sail to southeast Alaska, with its cavorting whales, calving glaciers and staggeringly…
Locals’ Seattle Center Memories
Our city’s civic gathering place has played host to many memorable and poignant moments. Here are a
Marie McCaffrey Executive director, HistoryLink.org I was 11 in 1962 and went to the fair at least twice. You can see the proof in these pictures (above). One is in the world’s fair photo booth. I clearly remember the smell and the taste of the Belgian waffle, which made such an indelible impression on everyone….
Cool Souvenirs from the World’s Fair
Sure, they’re kitschy now, but back in 1962, these items were hot property.
1. Champagne glasses (with Space Needle stems) used on opening night of the fair 2. A ticket book, with individual tickets for fair exhibits 3. An official Space Needle beanie, whose top shakes like a maraca 4. A commemorative egg timer on a piece of wood (of course!) 5. Porcelain salt and pepper shakers 6….
Back to the Future: Why Seattle’s World’s Fair Mattered
Our own Knute Berger—who is the official writer of the Space Needle—looks back on the 1962 Seattle W
In the winter of 1962, my Cub Scout den had taken a field trip to the top of the Smith Tower, then one of the tallest buildings west of the Mississippi. We went to the observation deck, where we had an unobstructed view across downtown to a strange spire that was rising near Queen Anne…
The History of the Seattle Center: A Timeline
The events that shaped Seattle's 1962 World's Fair and, eventually, the Seattle Center as we know it
June 1–October 16, 1909: Seattle’s first world’s fair, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, takes place (see photo above). 1954: City Council member Al Rochester proposes the idea that Seattle host a world’s fair to mark the 50th anniversary of the A-Y-P. February 19, 1957: The World’s Fair Commission receives authorization from Washington Governor Albert Rosellini to hold…
Space Needle Trivia!
Five things you didn’t know about Seattle’s Space Age icon.
The Space Needle Is Well Rooted (see above photo) The Space Needle has a 30-foot-deep foundation made with 2,800 yards of concrete and 250 tons of reinforcing steel. The above-ground portion of the Needle weighs an impressive 3,700 tons, but the foundation is even mightier, weighing in at 5,850 tons. Thanks to this massive hidden…
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