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400 Yesler Way: Seattle Municipal Building 1909-1916, Seattle Public Safety Building 1917-1951

The Seattle building located at 400 Yesler Way was constructed as a Municipal Building in 1909 and provided space for Seattle City offices, the City jail, an emergency hospital, the police department, and a health and sanitation department. The architect of the concrete and steel-framed building was Clayton D. Wilson. In about 1912, a penthouse for a nurses' residence was added onto the roof. In 1916, City offices relocated to the new County-City Building (now the King County Courthouse), leaving the 400 Yesler building to the purposes for which it was originally intended: to be the city's first public safety building. And so it remained until 1951, when a new public safety building was built (which has since been demolished). The old public safety building was abandoned, then sold in 1957 to private owners. Toward the end of 1976, the City negotiated with the owners to renovate the building and lease it to the City for offices. The inside of the building was gutted and redeveloped, and some City offices moved there in 1977 and early 1978. King County bought the building in 1991 and in the late 1990s waterproofed and renovated the rotting foundation levels. Today, 400 Yesler Way continues to grace Yesler Hill between 4th and 5th avenues and Yesler Avenue and Terrace Street, a beaux arts, government building that dates from the early years of the twentieth century.
File 9336: Full Text >

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was formally established in the summer of 1999. The new organization consolidated previous activities dating back to 1994, including family giving, the William H. Gates Foundation, the Microsoft Corporation's "Libraries Online" initiative, the Gates Library Foundation and later Gates Learning Foundation. With an endowment estimated at more than $22 billion in early 2000, it ranked as the largest philanthropic trust in the United States. Its contribution strategy focuses on global health and population control programs, libraries and access to information technology, education reform and minority scholarships, and a wide range of Pacific Northwest institutions and programs.
File 2907: Full Text >

Business and Industry in Seattle in 1900

A look at Seattle area businesses in 1900 indicates that the economy was simpler, life less complicated, labor harder, travel slower, and that opportunities to enhance one's quality of life were rarer. The modest turn-of-the-century Seattle skyline was that of a town, but within a decade steel-framed skyscrapers poked high crowns into the heavens above a true city. Historian James R. Warren surveys local industries and businesses at the beginning of the twentieth century in this special essay, adapted with permission from the Puget Sound Business Journal.
File 1669: Full Text >

Chewelah -- Thumbnail History

Few Washington towns can claim a more idyllic setting than Chewelah, located some 45 miles north of Spokane in the southern Colville River valley in Stevens County. To the east, the dark bulk of Quartzite Mountain, part of the Selkirks, broods over the town. To the west, across the valley, rise the Huckleberry Mountains. This region was once the home of Indians, particularly Colvilles and a few Spokanes and Kalispels. Then fur traders and missionaries passed through. Beginning in the 1840s, French-Canadian, Scottish, and mixed-race former employees of the old Hudson's Bay Company Fort Colvile (HBC spelling) began farming in the Chewelah area. Pioneer settlement from elsewhere began in the 1850s, drawn to opportunities for mining, logging, and ranching. Conveniently for settlers as well as miners on their way to points farther north, the future town site lay near the Colville Road, the main route between military forts Walla Walla and Colville. Chewelah's greatest economic boosts came in 1889 with the arrival of railroad service and in 1916 with a decades-long magnesite boom. The town's recovery from the loss in 1968 of this industry is a study in community self-help that continues today and bodes well for the future.
File 9534: Full Text >

Children's Orthopedic Hospital

In early 1907, Anna Herr Clise (1866-1936) called together 23 affluent Seattle women friends to address a health care crisis -- namely the lack of a facility to treat crippled and malnourished children. Each of the women contributed $20 to launch Children's Orthopedic Hospital. The hospital opened on Queen Anne Hill and in 1953 moved to Seattle's Laurelhurst neighborhood. Today known as Children's Hospital and Medical Center, it is still governed by an all-women board of trustees. Key to the hospital's development has been income raised by volunteers through their work in the hospital guilds. In 1944, the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors honored the Orthopedic as Seattle's First Citizen for the contribution made by Children's Hospital to the community and to the Northwest. The honor paid tribute to the thousands of women in the guild and junior guild organizations, to the volunteer staff of doctors, and to the many hospital volunteers who cared for the patients over the years.
File 2059: Full Text >

Crowley, Walt (1947-2007)

Walter C. Crowley was the founding president and executive director of History Ink, the non-profit historical organization which produces HistoryLink.org, the nation's first online encyclopedia of local and state history created expressly for the Internet. A Seattle resident since 1961, Walt Crowley worked as a journalist, a social services director, a policy planner for the City of Seattle and the Municipal League of King County, a television news commentator, and a freelance writer and communications consultant. He was active in numerous social justice and historic preservation causes since the 1960s, and was author or co-author of more than a dozen books on local history and institutions. In 2007 he received posthumously the highest award bestowed by the Washington State Historical Society -- the Robert Gray Medal. The medal recognizes distinguished and long-term contributions to Pacific Northwest history.
File 7216: Full Text >

Danz, Fredric A. (1918-2009)

Some may have been born into show business, but for Fredric Danz, it's more accurate to say that he was born into the business of shows. The son of pioneer Seattle film exhibitor John Danz (d. 1961), Fredric inherited his father's chain of motion picture houses in the early 1960s, growing the family business into Sterling Recreation Organization (SRO), which at its height owned more than 100 theaters up and down the West Coast. But Fredric Danz wasn't simply concerned with his business interests, as evidenced by his lengthy involvement in civic activities. For his many contributions to the larger community, the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors named Fredric Danz First Citizen of 1985.
File 7306: Full Text >

Davis, Aubrey (b. 1917)

Health care reformer, public transportation advocate, politician, civil servant, businessman, inventor, environmentalist -- Aubrey Davis has affected the lives of Northwesterners for more than half-a-century. He helped create King County Metro; ensured the survival of what a New England Journal of Medicine editor called health care's "model of the future" (The New York Times); pioneered community involvement in highway planning; ran businesses that created products ranging from military weather stations to waterproofing for decks; advocated to preserve abortion rights in Washington; and chaired the task force that investigated the 1990 sinking of the Interstate 90 floating bridge. His political life included election as mayor of Mercer Island, running for King County Executive, managing Senator Warren Magnuson's last campaign, and chairing the state transportation commission. Then-State Representative Ed Murray once described Davis as "a man of the future ... a visionary" (Hadley). A Seattle Times reporter said Davis is "crusty, stubborn, indefatigable and widely respected. He leads -- and lasts -- with patience and persistence, taking on the big issues without ego interfering. ... Aubrey Davis has no patience for failure" (Gilmore). Andrew Johnson, an adviser to former Governor Gary Locke, said, "Folks like Aubrey are giants" (Gilmore).
File 8179: Full Text >

Forest Fire in Washington State

Despite the rainy reputation of the Pacific Northwest, fire has figured prominently in the natural and economic history of the region. Fire was once a natural part of the environment, and Native Americans used it in their quest for survival. But settlers and their descendants regarded fire as the enemy of the forests that generated so many jobs and that symbolized the Evergreen State. Fire suppression became the goal. This changed by the 1970s. Foresters demonstrated that policies of aggressive suppression had actually been detrimental to forest health and productivity. By the end of the twentieth century, federal land managers employed prescribed burning to replicate the historic role of fire in forest ecosystems and to reduce the amount of fuel that had built up over decades of preventing forest fires.
File 5496: Full Text >

Gideon, Russell (1904-1985)

Russell Gideon was a Seattle businessman, a pharmacist, and a pioneer in senior housing who came to Seattle in 1946. He organized the Central Area's Seafair Mardi Gras festivities. From 1977 until his death, he was recognized yearly by Ebony magazine as one of the nation’s 100 most influential black citizens.
File 238: Full Text >

Gogerty, Patrick (b. 1929)

Patrick Gogerty became director of Seattle Day Nursery in 1973 and transformed the program, originally founded in 1909 as a daycare center, into a model program for child abuse. The program was renamed Childhaven in 1985 and is recognized as one of the leading and most forward-thinking child abuse programs in the nation. The keys to Childhaven's effectiveness include early intervention with infants, keeping the child in the home, providing hot meals and therapy during the day, and counseling parents at the same time. Pat Gogerty himself came from an abusive home, where his father Roy, an alcoholic, beat his mother and the five Gogerty brothers. Pat, the eldest, was put in foster care several times. From this early experience, Gogerty went on to work with disturbed children in a number of settings. His concerns about the shortcomings of state support for such care paved the way for him and his brother Bob to become involved in politics, with Pat becoming a skilled pollster and Bob an influential consultant. Using his political connections, Pat Gogerty was able to obtain support for his fledgling program -- often despite the powers that dominated the field -- and make it grow into a national model.
File 8304: Full Text >

Group Health Cooperative -- Part 1: Planting the Seeds, 1911-1945

The health care visionaries who founded Group Health Cooperative in Seattle in 1945 were activists in the farmers' grange movement, the union movement, and the consumer cooperative movement. Their inspiration was Lebanese-American physician Dr. Michael Shadid (1882-1966), founder of the nation's first cooperatively owned and managed hospital (in Oklahoma). Dr. Shadid's crusade was to overthrow the traditional fee-for-service practice of medicine dominated by solo practitioners, expensive specialists, and private hospitals and clinics. Instead he advocated affordable, prepaid healthcare through the cooperative ownership of hospitals staffed by physicians -- practicing as a group -- who promoted the new idea of "preventive" medicine. Group Health Cooperative began providing health care after merging in 1946 with the Seattle-based Medical Security Clinic, a physician-owned group practice whose idealistic doctors also believed in preventive care. After years of struggle and despite virulent opposition by the medical establishment, Group Health became one of the nation's largest consumer-directed health-care organizations. This is Part 1 of a seven part history of Group Health Cooperative.
File 7531: Full Text >

Group Health Cooperative -- Part 2: Open for Business, 1946-1950

The health care visionaries who founded Group Health Cooperative in Seattle in 1945 were activists in the farmers' grange movement, the union movement, and the consumer cooperative movement. Their inspiration was Lebanese-American physician Dr. Michael Shadid (1882-1966), founder of the nation's first cooperatively owned and managed hospital (in Oklahoma). Dr. Shadid's crusade was to overthrow the traditional fee-for-service practice of medicine dominated by solo practitioners, expensive specialists, and private hospitals and clinics. Instead he advocated affordable, prepaid healthcare through the cooperative ownership of hospitals staffed by physicians -- practicing as a group -- who promoted the new idea of "preventive" medicine. Group Health Cooperative began providing health care after merging in 1946 with the Seattle-based Medical Security Clinic, a physician-owned group practice whose idealistic doctors also believed in preventive care. After years of struggle and despite virulent opposition by the medical establishment, Group Health became one of the nation's largest consumer-directed health-care organizations. This is Part 2 of a seven part history of Group Health Cooperative.
File 7546: Full Text >

Group Health Cooperative -- Part 3: Growing Up and Out, 1952-1965

The health care visionaries who founded Group Health Cooperative in Seattle in 1945 were activists in the farmers' grange movement, the union movement, and the consumer cooperative movement. Their inspiration was Lebanese-American physician Dr. Michael Shadid (1882-1966), founder of the nation's first cooperatively owned and managed hospital (in Oklahoma). Dr. Shadid's crusade was to overthrow the traditional fee-for-service practice of medicine dominated by solo practitioners, expensive specialists, and private hospitals and clinics. Instead he advocated affordable, prepaid healthcare through the cooperative ownership of hospitals staffed by physicians -- practicing as a group -- who promoted the new idea of "preventive" medicine. Group Health Cooperative began providing health care after merging in 1946 with the Seattle-based Medical Security Clinic, a physician-owned group practice whose idealistic doctors also believed in preventive care. After years of struggle and despite virulent opposition by the medical establishment, Group Health became one of the nation's largest consumer-directed health-care organizations. This is Part 3 of a seven part history of Group Health Cooperative.
File 7659: Full Text >

Group Health Cooperative -- Part 4: From Medicare to HMO, 1966-1980

The health care visionaries who founded Group Health Cooperative in Seattle in 1945 were activists in the farmers' grange movement, the union movement, and the consumer cooperative movement. Their inspiration was Lebanese-American physician Dr. Michael Shadid (1882-1966), founder of the nation's first cooperatively owned and managed hospital (in Oklahoma). Dr. Shadid's crusade was to overthrow the traditional fee-for-service practice of medicine dominated by solo practitioners, expensive specialists, and private hospitals and clinics. Instead he advocated affordable, prepaid healthcare through the cooperative ownership of hospitals staffed by physicians -- practicing as a group -- who promoted the new idea of "preventive" medicine. Group Health Cooperative began providing health care after merging in 1946 with the Seattle-based Medical Security Clinic, a physician-owned group practice whose idealistic doctors also believed in preventive care. After years of struggle and despite virulent opposition by the medical establishment, Group Health became one of the nation's largest consumer-directed health-care organizations. This is Part 4 of a seven part history of Group Health Cooperative.
File 8255: Full Text >

Group Health Cooperative -- Part 5: Reform and Renewal, 1981-1990

The health care visionaries who founded Group Health Cooperative in Seattle in 1945 were activists in the farmers' grange movement, the union movement, and the consumer cooperative movement. Their inspiration was Lebanese-American physician Dr. Michael Shadid (1882-1966), founder of the nation's first cooperatively owned and managed hospital (in Oklahoma). Dr. Shadid's crusade was to overthrow the traditional fee-for-service practice of medicine dominated by solo practitioners, expensive specialists, and private hospitals and clinics. Instead he advocated affordable, prepaid healthcare through the cooperative ownership of hospitals staffed by physicians -- practicing as a group -- who promoted the new idea of "preventive" medicine. Group Health Cooperative began providing health care after merging in 1946 with the Seattle-based Medical Security Clinic, a physician-owned group practice whose idealistic doctors also believed in preventive care. After years of struggle and despite virulent opposition by the medical establishment, Group Health became one of the nation's largest consumer-directed health-care organizations. This is Part 5 of a seven part history of Group Health Cooperative.
File 8256: Full Text >

Group Health Cooperative -- Part 6: Marriages and Divorces, 1991-2000

The health care visionaries who founded Group Health Cooperative in Seattle in 1945 were activists in the farmers' grange movement, the union movement, and the consumer cooperative movement. Their inspiration was Lebanese-American physician Dr. Michael Shadid (1882-1966), founder of the nation's first cooperatively owned and managed hospital (in Oklahoma). Dr. Shadid's crusade was to overthrow the traditional fee-for-service practice of medicine dominated by solo practitioners, expensive specialists, and private hospitals and clinics. Instead he advocated affordable, prepaid healthcare through the cooperative ownership of hospitals staffed by physicians -- practicing as a group -- who promoted the new idea of "preventive" medicine. Group Health Cooperative began providing health care after merging in 1946 with the Seattle-based Medical Security Clinic, a physician-owned group practice whose idealistic doctors also believed in preventive care. After years of struggle and despite virulent opposition by the medical establishment, Group Health became one of the nation's largest consumer-directed health-care organizations. This is Part 6 of a seven part history of Group Health Cooperative.
File 8257: Full Text >

Group Health Cooperative -- Part 7: New Beginnings, Old Challenges, 2001-

The health care visionaries who founded Group Health Cooperative in Seattle in 1945 were activists in the farmers' grange movement, the union movement, and the consumer cooperative movement. Their inspiration was Lebanese-American physician Dr. Michael Shadid (1882-1966), founder of the nation's first cooperatively owned and managed hospital (in Oklahoma). Dr. Shadid's crusade was to overthrow the traditional fee-for-service practice of medicine dominated by solo practitioners, expensive specialists, and private hospitals and clinics. Instead he advocated affordable, prepaid healthcare through the cooperative ownership of hospitals staffed by physicians -- practicing as a group -- who promoted the new idea of "preventive" medicine. Group Health Cooperative began providing health care after merging in 1946 with the Seattle-based Medical Security Clinic, a physician-owned group practice whose idealistic doctors also believed in preventive care. After years of struggle and despite virulent opposition by the medical establishment, Group Health became one of the nation's largest consumer-directed health-care organizations. This is Part 7 of a seven part history of Group Health Cooperative.
File 8258: Full Text >

Hanna, Missouri T. B. (1857-1926)

Missouri T. B. Hanna. often known as "Mrs. M. T. B. Hanna," was born in Texas and grew up in Arkansas. She moved with her husband and three children to Spokane Falls, Washington Territory, in 1882 but was soon widowed. In 1904, at the age of 47, she settled in the Puget Sound mill village of Edmonds and the next January purchased the weekly Edmonds Review which she published for five years, acknowledged as the first woman newspaper publisher in Washington. The paper chronicled the early phases of Edmond's growth. After selling that paper to the owner of the rival Edmonds Tribune, who thus created the long enduring Edmonds Tribune-Review, Hanna published two successive journals in behalf of woman suffrage. Votes for Women worked toward attaining the vote which was obtained in Washington in November 1910; its successor, The New Citizen, recognized the role of the newly enfranchised women. Meanwhile, she developed an Edmonds neighborhood known as Hanna Park and was a founder of the Snohomish County Press Association. Her personal life was marred by several tragedies including the early deaths of her husband, a son, and a daughter. Missouri Hanna died in Edmonds on June 14, 1926, honored as the "Mother of Journalism" in Washington.
File 9029: Full Text >

Jackson, Henry M. "Scoop" (1912-1983)

Henry M. (Scoop) Jackson was one of the most successful and powerful politicians in the history of Washington state. Jackson was born and died in Everett, Snohomish County, the rough-edged industrial port on Puget Sound north of Seattle, where he lived in the house where he was born for much of his life (when Congress was not in session). At 28, Jackson entered the United States Congress as its youngest member. He remained there the rest of his life, serving under nine presidents. Jackson never lost an election in Washington, winning six terms in the House of Representatives and six in the Senate, often by record margins. Jackson was the quintessential "Cold War liberal." He was an outspoken and influential advocate of increased military spending and a hard line against the Soviet Union, while supporting social welfare programs, civil rights, and the labor movement. Together with Warren G. Magnuson (1905-1989), with whom he served in the Senate for 28 years, Jackson used his legislative skill and seniority to win the state unprecedented influence in the nation's capital. He guided key environmental legislation that greatly expanded wilderness areas and national parks in Washington and across the country, managed the bills that granted statehood to Alaska and Hawaii, and sponsored the law that turned surplus military bases into parks in Seattle and elsewhere.
File 5516: Full Text >

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