Name: Bridges of Seattle
Brand: Maureen R. Elenga
SKU: 9781467104388
Price: 16.79 USD
Availability: InStock

Bridges of Seattle

9781467104388

$23.99 $16.79 Save 30%

Seattle is situated in a region of outstanding scenic beauty, but the forested hills and numerous bodies of water that characterize the city were formidable obstacles to connecting its communities as it grew out from the historic center. Between 1896 and 1930, the city undertook massive landscape regrades, landfills, and waterway cuts to ease movement by land and water. The completion of these efforts allowed for the construction of Seattle's first permanent steel bridges beginning in 1910. Nine bridges included in this book are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. They include Washington's oldest steel arch bridge, the 1911 Twelfth Avenue South Bridge; the 1913 Ravenna Park Bridge; all four of the Lake Washington Ship Canal bascules, constructed between 1917 and 1924; and the Depression-era Aurora, Cowen Park, and Schmitz Park bridges. Bridges of Seattle explores the history of the spans that are a quintessential part of the Seattle experience.

Cemeteries of Seattle

9780738548135

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

A fascinating story exists just below Seattle's surface, buried in the city's many historic cemeteries. Founded in 1872 on land acquired from Doc Maynard, Lake View Cemetery holds the remains of one of Seattle's favorite sons, Bruce Lee, whose son Brandon Lee is buried beside him. Maynard is also buried here, along with most of the Seattle pioneers, including the Dennys, Borens, Maynards, Yeslers, and Morans. Princess Angeline, Chief Sealth's daughter, was buried here in a canoe-shaped coffin, and Madame Damnable's remains supposedly turned to stone. Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery, founded in 1884 by the Denny family, contains Judge Thomas Burke, known as "the man who built Seattle"; a Veterans' Memorial Cemetery dating from the Civil War; and two cannons from the USS Constitution, famously nicknamed "Old Ironsides." Mount Pleasant Cemetery, founded in 1883 in Queen Anne, is the final resting place of the labor martyrs of the Everett Massacre and William Bell, of Belltown fame. Remembrance benches for Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix's memorial are also local landmarks.

Cemeteries of Tacoma

9780738575315

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

During the mid-19th century, coffins were built with a drawstring bell to serve as an alarm in case one had the misfortune of being buried alive. It is believed that several such coffins reside in Tacoma's cemeteries. Fortunately, there are no reports of bells ringing in the middle of the night. Tacoma has numerous Victorian cemeteries that house renowned pioneers, like Thea Foss, Angelo Fawcett, and Brig. Gen. John W. Sprague, a hero of the Civil War who cofounded Tacoma and served as the city's first mayor. Several cemeteries are dying to tell their story and have not seen a visitor in over a century. Some have been abandoned completely, while others have been relocated numerous times. A number of graves that should have been moved are still in their original places. Tacoma residents will be astonished to learn the whereabouts of several unmarked graves, including some located along a very familiar piece of highway.

Lighthouses and Lifesaving on Washington's Outer Coast

9780738559711

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Washington's storm-ridden outer coast stretches from Cape Disappointment, at the mouth of the Columbia River, to Cape Flattery, at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a distance of about 150 miles. Historians have labeled these waters "the Graveyard of the Pacific" and "the Unforgiving Coast." Despite their hazards, sea routes to, from, and along the coast have been busy. Maritime fur traders and explorers, warships, Gold Rush shipping, passenger vessels, lumber carriers, break-bulk freighters, container ships, and tankers have plied these waters. Concurrently, fisheries developed along the coast, adding to the number of vessels at risk. To assist mariners sailing these waters, the United States built its first lighthouse on the Washington coast at Cape Disappointment in 1856. Additional lighthouses, lightships, and lifesaving stations soon followed. With more than 180 images from archives throughout the Pacific Northwest, this collection documents their history.

Lighthouses and Lifesaving on Washington's Outer Coast

Seattle's 1962 World's Fair

9780738581255

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

When the United States entered the 1960s, the nation was swept up in the Space Race as the United States and the Soviet Union competed for supremacy in rocket and satellite technologies. Cities across the country hoped to attract new aerospace companies, but the city leaders of Seattle launched the most ambitious campaign of all. They invited the whole world to visit for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, and more than nine million people took them up on the offer. A colorful collection of exhibits turned 74 acres of rundown buildings into a futuristic wonderland where dozens of countries and companies predicted life in the future. The entire city was transformed with the addition of the soaring Space Needle and the futuristic monorail. When the fair ended, the site became a complex of parks and museums that remains a vibrant part of Seattle city life today.

Spokane's Expo '74

9781467124638

$24.99

In the late 1960s, Spokane's civic leaders were desperately looking for a way to revitalize a large section of downtown, especially a motley collection of little-used railroad lines and polluted industrial sites along the Spokane River. Their solution was to use the area for Expo '74, which was billed as the first ecologically themed world's fair. Critics predicted the project was sure to fail, as Spokane was the smallest city to ever host a world's fair, but history proved them wrong. From the minute the gates opened on May 4, 1974, the crowds loved the fair. Hosting 5.4 million visitors, with participation from several major companies and countries, Expo '74 was a success. As planned, it launched a rebirth along the river that left a permanent legacy, the popular Riverfront Park.