Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection
Watch oral histories with prominent figures in the Pacific Northwest including artists Jacob Lawrence and Kenneth Callahan; Governors Albert Rosellini and Dixy Lee Ray and Reverends David Colwell and Samuel McKinney.
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Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Wash - Plate 22
Baist Real Estate atlases of Seattle were published in 1905, 1908, and 1912. The atlases show property ownership (for large tracts), plats, block and lot numbers, streets, buildings, sewers, water mains, electric railways, and steam railroads.
Identifier: spl_maps_341191.22
Date: 1905
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S. Washington St. east from 4th Ave. S., May 30, 1968
View of S. Washington St. looking east from 4th Ave. S. with the Terrace View Hotel and Astor Hotel visible in the distance. The Astor Hotel was designed by architects Thompson & Thompson and built in the former Japantown section of Seattle's International District in 1909, featuring a 400-seat cultural and performing arts theater, the Nippon Kan Theater. The theater served as a Japanese community center until 1942, when it was boarded up during the Japanese American internment.
Identifier: spl_dor_00011
Date: 1968-05-30
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University Way NE and NE 45th St., ca. 1990s
Photograph shows the southwest corner of University Way NE, colloquially know as The Ave, and 45th St., with view of Safeco Tower building, later UW Tower after its purchase by the University of Washington in 2006.
Identifier: spl_dor_00049
Date: 1995?
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Edith Williams Interview, March 30, 1988
Edith Williams was the granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt and a champion of the Republican Party and environmental causes in the Pacific Northwest. She was born in New York and attended schools in New York and Switzerland. During the Great Depression, she worked at the American Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. She married her husband Andrew Williams in 1941 and the couple moved to Seattle. Her children attended Lakeside School and the St. Nicholas School. Williams was heavily involved in campaigning and fundraising for the Republican party, representing King County on the state Republican Committee. She was also active with the Elizabeth Fischer Orthopedic Guild and St. Mark’s Cathedral. She served as regent of the Washington State University from 1975 to 1981.
Identifier: spl_ds_ewilliams_01
Date: 1988-03-30
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Ralph Anderson Interview, May 25, 1987
Ralph Anderson (1924-2010) was a Seattle architect known for his work with historic preservation efforts in Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square. Anderson attended Queen Anne High School and graduated with his architecture degree from the University of Washington in 1951. He worked as a draftsman for Paul Hayden Kirk from 1951 to 1954 before forming his own firm. During the 1960s and 1970s, he led helped restore several buildings in Pioneer Square including the Union Trust Building, the Pioneer Building and the Grand Central Hotel. His restoration efforts extended to Pike Place Market in the 1970s, focusing on the Smith Block, Butterworth Building and Alaska Trade Building.
Identifier: spl_ds_randerson_01_01
Date: 1987-05-25
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University Bridge, looking east, July 10, 1960
The University Bridge opened in 1919, connecting Seattle's University District with Eastlake. In this photograph, the bridge is open as boats travel underneath from Portage Bay to Lake Union.
Identifier: spl_dor_00001
Date: 1960-07-10
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Roy Jackson Interview, April 5, 1988
Roy Jackson (1916-2000) was the deputy director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and active in protecting salmon. He was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. Jackson graduated from the University of Washington College of Fisheries in 1939 and studied salmon in the Fraser River. In 1948 he graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in civil engineering. Between 1938 and 1955, he held a variety of roles with the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission including chief engineer and assistant director. In his time with the organization, he helped restore salmon spawning beds and establish fishways for salmon to travel, resulting in a dramatically more robust salmon population. In 1955 he accepted a role as the executive director of the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission which he held for several years before moving to Rome in 1964 to work for the United Nations. He became the deputy director of the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization in 1972. In 1979, he returned to Seattle and co-founded Natural Resources Consultants. He also held the role of chairman of the board for the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources.
Identifier: spl_ds_rjackson_01
Date: 1988-04-05
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Solie Ringold Interview, 1988
Solie Ringold (1914-2004) was a Seattle native who became Washington’s first Jewish judge in 1961. Ringold attended the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in law in 1936. After earning his degree Ringold began working for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office. In 1939 Ringold married his wife, Marion Margolis. Shortly after their first daughter’s birth, World War II began and Ringold left Seattle to serve as part of the Army’s counterintelligence corps in the South Pacific. Following the war, the couple had two more children. Throughout his career, Ringold held several prominent positions including serving as a chairman of the Civil Rights Committee of the Seattle Bar Association from 1960-1961, as a King County Superior Court Judge between 1961 and 1977 and a Washington State Court of Appeals judge between 1978 and 1988. Ringold was active in many community organizations including the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, Jewish Family and Child Service of Seattle, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, and the American Veterans Club. He was a founding member of the Washington State Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The organization named Ringold their “Person of the Year” in 1992.
Identifier: spl_ds_sringold_01_01
Date: 1988
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Ibsen Nelson Interview, 1988
Ibsen Andreas Nelson (1919-2001) was a Seattle architect known for his historical preservation efforts and his designs for buildings such as the Museum of Flight and the Inn at the Market. He also designed many residential homes, including one for his friend and prominent Pacific Northwest artist Morris Graves. Originally from Ruskin, Nebraska, Nelson served in the army during World War II and received two bronze stars. Following the war, he attended the University of Oregon which he graduated from in 1951 with his degree in architecture. He worked briefly at Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson in Seattle as a draftsman before opening his own architectural firm in 1953. Nelson was a member of the Seattle Design Commission, and served as president of both the Allied Arts of Seattle and the Seattle Municipal Arts Commission.
Identifier: spl_ds_inelson_01
Date: 1988-04-06; 1988-04-12
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Norah Raymond Interview, May 15, 1988
Norah Raymond (1902-2002) came from a prominent Port Angeles family and was an active member of multiple Seattle organizations. She was born in Port Angeles to Thomas T. and Eva Aldwell. Thomas Aldwell was originally from Toronto and moved to Port Angeles in 1890. He became a prominent landowner in the area, served as Clallam County auditor and president of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce. He was also instrumental in advocating for the construction of the Elwah Dam. Norah Raymond attended Holy Names in Seattle and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington in 1922 with a degree in business administration. She married her husband, W. Lloyd Raymond ( -1941) in 1930. He was employed in the timber industry with a variety of companies including as Vice President of Rayonier, Inc., a pulp and paper company in Port Angeles. Raymond was active in the Seattle Golf and Tennis clubs, the Sunset Club and Children’s Hospital.
Identifier: spl_ds_nraymond_01
Date: 1988-05-15
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