Category Archives Seattle History

smith-tower-prohibition

The final chapter in our Smells Like Seattle Spirits speaker series has arrived. Join us on May 6 for the crazy conclusion to the story of Roy Olmstead, Seattle's original rumrunning king. Monday, May 6 The Hard Fall: The Feds Fight Back  Olmstead’s good guy anti-hero popularity peaks, with his remarkable popularity driven by better whiskey, lower prices, and an…

smith-tower-seattle-2nd-yesler-1922

You one of them bluenose types? We don't want you around here then. "Pardon me... Bluenose?" Yeah, a bluenose! A prude, a puritan, a wet blanket. Someone who don't know how to kick back and have some fun! 1920s slang seems like another language nowadays. Giggle water? Why not just call it booze? Riding the struggle buggy? No, you're not…

smith-tower-night-view-1937

37,308 days passed between Smith Tower's opening on Independence Day, 1914, and when the new Smith Tower visitor experience opened August 25, 2016. In 1914, it would be another 14 years before the Paramount Theatre opened, another 19 years before the Seattle Art Museum would open, another 33 years before Seattle would have an airport. Two world wars would spur the city…