SUGGESTED READING
I used a variety of primary and secondary sources during the research for this book. Following is a list of non-primary books and articles that I found helpful. I have tried to indicate when they are no longer in print or perhaps available only in libraries or online (most of the context statements are available online).
WALK 1: SEATTLE’S HISTORIC SHORELINE Although it’s not available to buy (it’s in libraries and online), the best account of Seattle’s historic shoreline is Paul Dorpat’s Seattle Waterfront: An Illustrated History (Seattle: Seattle City Council, 2006). Good information is also found in Pioneer Square: Seattle’s Oldest Neighborhood, edited by Mildred Tanner Andrews (Seattle: Pioneer Square Community Association in association with University of Washington Press, 2005). Out of print but often in libraries is J. Willis Sayre’s This City of Ours (Seattle: Seattle School District, 1936).
WALK 2: DENNY HILL Good pictures and background are in Paul Dorpat’s Now and Then book series, published in Seattle by Tartu Publications. Diana James’s Shared Walls: Seattle Apartment Buildings, 1900–1939 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2012) mentions some of the apartments that popped up post-regrade. Additional material is also in Mimi Sheridan’s Belltown Historic Context Statement and Survey Report (Seattle: City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods, 2007), in Denny Triangle Historic Survey and Inventory Context Statement (Seattle: City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods, 2006), and in my book Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015). There is also one novel set on Denny Hill, Peter Donahue’s Madison House (Portland: Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts, 2005).
WALK 3: STORIES IN STONE David Knoblach probably knows more than anyone about the local stone industry. In particular, good background history, as well as a list of which type of stone is used in different buildings in different cities, can be found in his article “Washington’s Stone Industry: A History,” Washington Geology 21, no. 4 (1993): 3–17. Additional information about building materials is also in my books The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City (Portland: WestWinds Press, 2005) and Stories in Stone: Travels through Urban Geology (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019).
WALK 4: WHO’S WATCHING YOU? Jeffrey Karl Ochsner and Dennis Alan Anderson’s Distant Corner: Seattle Architects and the Legacy of H. H. Richardson (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2003) provides great information on the city’s late-19th- and early-20th-century buildings. Ochsner also edited Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014), which covers a wider range of time. More insights into Seattle’s terra-cotta history are in Impressions of Imagination: Terra Cotta Seattle (Seattle: Allied Arts of Seattle, 1986), which is out of print but is usually available in libraries, as is Larry Kreisman’s Made to Last: Historic Preservation in Seattle and King County (Seattle: Historic Seattle Preservation Foundation in association with University of Washington Press, 1999). And finally, Maureen R. Elenga’s Seattle Architecture: A Walking Guide to Downtown (Seattle: Seattle Architectural Foundation, 2007) does exactly what the title says.
WALK 5: REGRADES AND THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT Numerous books tell the stories of the International District. Historical accounts (generally easiest to find in libraries) include Divided Destiny: A History of Japanese Americans in Seattle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1998), by David Takami; Meet Me at Higo: An Enduring Story of a Japanese American Family (Seattle: Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, 2011), by Ken Mochizuki; Seattle’s International District: The Making of a Pan-Asian American Community (Seattle: International Examiner Press, 2009), by Doug Chin; and Jackson Street after Hours: The Roots of Jazz in Seattle (Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 1993), by Paul de Barros. Also rich in detail is the National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for the International District. John Okada’s brilliant novel No-No Boy (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014) portrays the Nihonmachi life just after World War II. Monica Sone’s Nisei Daughter (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014) recounts her childhood in the same area. Both are still in print. Although it only has a slight mention of the International District, Carlos Bulosan’s America Is in the Heart: A Personal History (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1973) offers great insights into Seattle’s Filipino community.
WALK 6: MADISON STREET Esther Mumford’s Seattle’s Black Victorians: 1852–1901 (Seattle: Ananse Press, 1980) and Quintard Taylor’s The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District, from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994) provide the best accounts of the area’s African American settlers. Both are found in libraries. For more information on the Madison Street Cable Company and the other street trolleys, see Mike Bergman’s Seattle’s Streetcar Era: An Illustrated History, 1884–1941 (Pullman: Washington State University Press, 2021). Madison Park Remembered (Seattle: J. P. Thomas, 2004), by longtime resident Jane Powell Thomas, tells the story of the neighborhood. Edited by Larry Kreisman, Tradition and Change on Seattle’s First Hill: Propriety, Profanity, Pills, and Preservation (Seattle: Historic Seattle Preservation Foundation, 2014) tells the amazing stories of Seattle’s first premier neighborhood.
WALK 7: CASCADE AND SOUTH LAKE UNION The best overall account is Karen Link’s 2004 Cascade Historic Survey: Buildings, Objects, and Artifacts (Seattle: Thomas Street History Services). You can also find historic nominations online for the Seattle Times Building (1996); St. Spiridon Russian Orthodox Cathedral (1976); Immanuel Lutheran Church (1981); Supply Laundry Building (2007); Troy Laundry Building Van Vorst Building (2003); Firestone Auto Service and Supply (2016); Ford Assembly Plant (1998); and Pacific McKay Building (2006).
WALK 8: LAKE UNION Thaisa Way’s The Landscape Architecture of Richard Haag: From Modern Space to Urban Ecological Design (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015) offers a good perspective on Gas Works Park. Howard Droker’s Seattle’s Unsinkable Houseboats (Seattle: Watermark Press, 1977), out of print but still available in libraries, is a great source for the history of houseboats and Lake Union. The South Lake Union Context Statement (Seattle: City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods, 2005) provides great details about the south end of the lake. It also includes a bibliography of additional books and articles about the neighborhood. HistoryLink.org offers a cybertour of the lake (Essay 8166) as well as the walking tour of South Lake Union.
WALK 9: THE HIRAM M. CHITTENDEN LOCKS AND DISCOVERY PARK Magnolia and Ballard have active historical societies and excellent books about the local history. These include Passport to Ballard: The Centennial Story (Seattle: Ballard News Tribune, 1988) and Four Bridges to Seattle: Old Ballard, 1853–1907 (Seattle: Wandrey, 1975), which are available in many local libraries. Magnolia: Memories and Milestones and Magnolia: Making More Memories are available from the Magnolia Historical Society, which published the books. You can find additional information about the locks from the Friends of Ballard Locks. An excellent book about a disturbing incident in Fort Lawton during World War II is Jack Hamann’s On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of World War II (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005).
WALK 10: GREEN LAKE TO LAKE WASHINGTON No single source addresses the terrain covered in this walk. Good online sources to search for details include historylink.org and the Seattle Parks Department’s Sherwood Park History Files.
WALK 11: MEADOWBROOK POND AND THORNTON CREEK The best source of information about the Meadowbrook area is Valarie Bunn’s website (www
WALK 12: CAPITOL HILL The best history book on the area is The Hill with a Future: Seattle’s Capitol Hill 1900–1946 (Seattle: CPK Inc, 2001), by Jacqueline B. Williams. Unfortunately, it is out of print, but if you want the story of the hill, track it down. If you are interested in the hill’s many apartments, find Shared Walls: Seattle Apartment Buildings, 1900–1939, by Diana E. James. Another very detailed description of houses is the online National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form for the Harvard-Belmont District. The best source of information about regional Olmsted parks is Greenscapes: Olmsted’s Pacific Northwest (Pullman: Washington State University Press, 2009), by Joan Hockaday.
WALK 13: CENTRAL DISTRICT Two splendid books discuss the history of African Americans in Seattle: Esther Hall Mumford’s Seattle’s Black Victorians, 1852–1901 (Seattle: Ananse Press, 1980); and Quintard Taylor’s The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2022). The best history of Jewish people in the state is Family of Strangers: Building Jewish Communities in Washington State (Seattle: Washington State Jewish Historical Society, 2023) by Molly Cone, Howard Droker, and Jacqueline Williams. Another source of good information is Thomas Veith’s History of the Central Area (Seattle: Historic Preservation Program, 2009). Also check out the websites for HistoryLinkTours and BlackPast.
WALK 14: BEACON HILL Seattle’s Beacon Hill (Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2003), by Frederica Merrell and Mira Latoszek, is a fine source of historical information, as well as photographs. More detailed information can also be found in Caroline Tobin’s Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement (Seattle: City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods, 2004).
WALK 15: RAINIER BEACH TO COLUMBIA CITY For more information on local history (and a great reference list), see Caroline Tobin’s North Rainier Valley Historic Context Statement (Seattle: City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods, 2004). The National Park Service through the National Register of Historic Places has produced a similar document for Columbia City (www
WALK 16: GEORGETOWN For the big picture story, nothing is better than BJ Cummings’s The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2020). The City of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods has published two context statements that cover this area: Historic Property Survey Report: Georgetown (Seattle, Washington) by Katheryn H. Krafft and Cathy Wickwire in 1997 and History of South Park by Thomas Veith in 2009. Two good books about the transit system are Warren Wing’s To Tacoma by Trolley: The Puget Sound Electric Company (Edmonds, WA: Pacific Fast Mail, 1995) and Mike Bergman’s Seattle’s Streetcar Era: An Illustrated History, 1884–1941 (Pullman: Washington State University Press, 2021). Also look for June Peterson Robinson’s The Georgetown Story: That Was a Town 1904–1919 (Sequim, WA: Poverty Bay Publishing, 2000). Also, check out the websites for the Georgetown Steam Plant and Friends of Georgetown History.
WALK 17: DELRIDGE AND PIGEON POINT The Delridge History Project (delridge history.org) provides thorough background on the neighborhood, as does the out-of-print Delridge Community History (Seattle: Seattle Parks Department, 1994), by Gail Dubrow and Alexa Berlow. If you desire to explore more stairways, check out Jake and Cathy Jaramillo’s Seattle Stairway Walks (Seattle: Mountaineers Books, 2012). The poet Richard Hugo, who grew up in White Center south of Delridge, wrote about Youngstown and the surrounding area in his book The Real West Marginal Way: A Poet’s Autobiography (New York: Norton, 1986).
WALK 18: WEST SEATTLE The best histories are West Side Story (Seattle: Robinson Newspapers, 1987), edited by Clay Eals, and Brooke Best’s Celebrating 150 Years, Architectural History of West Seattle’s North End: Harbor Avenue, Alki, and South Alki (Seattle: Brooke V. Best, 2003). Many books cover the founding of Seattle, including Murray Morgan’s Skid Road: An Informal Portrait of Seattle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1982) and Seattle: Past to Present (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1976), by Roger Sales. Both are opinionated and easy to read. And no one who visits the area should miss the Log House Museum, run by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. The museum carries West Side Story.