July 29, 2010 – August 4, 2010

Heat of the Moment

Although many of us enjoy hot summer days, sometimes the warm, dry weather can create optimal conditions for devastating fires. Such was the case on July 30, 1914, when a small blaze beneath Seattle's Grand Trunk Pacific dock reacted with the sweltering, under-ventilated air within the vast warehouse above. Within seconds the entire structure burst into a burning maelstrom that eventually killed five people and injured 29.

On August 4, 1889, a fire broke out in a wooden building along Railroad Avenue in Spokane. The flames quickly spread to other wooden structures, stoked by rubbish and refuse between buildings. Firefighters had no chance to extinguish the blaze, which grew to engulf the more substantial brick and stone buildings of the business district. By nightfall, the inferno had destroyed 32 square blocks, virtually the entire downtown.

August 2, 1909, started out as a nice day in Everett, until sparks from a blacksmith shop ignited a pile of loose hay. The shop burned and flames jumped from building to building, ending with the destruction of the Snohomish County Courthouse. Making matters worse, a string of arson fires followed. That evening, local residents were busy guarding their homes and were unable to attend Snohomish County Day festivities the next day at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle.

Sole Survivors

On August 1, 1989, a monument was dedicated at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in honor of three nineteenth-century Japanese sailors, believed to be the first Japanese to arrive in what is now Washington state. The sailors had drifted at sea in a disabled ship for more than a year before running aground on the Olympic Peninsula in 1834. Their names were Iwakichi, Kyukichi, and Otokichi.

Found and briefly imprisoned by Makah Indians, the "three kichis" spent several months at Fort Vancouver before being sent on to London and eventually to China. They became pawns in the diplomatic chess game that governed Japan's relations with the outside world in the mid-nineteenth century and were never able to return to their homeland.

News Then, History Now

Healthy Glow: The Sisters of Providence opened Seattle's first hospital on August 2, 1878, on the present site of the William Kenzo Nakamura Federal Courthouse. Designed in part by Mother Joseph, who also supervised construction, the hospital aided the sick and indigent until 1911, when the Sisters moved to the present site of the Providence Seattle Medical Center. In 2000, Swedish Medical Center took over Providence.

Power Below: On July 31, 1899, hydroelectric generators began producing energy within the bowels of Snoqualmie Falls. This year, Puget Sound Energy is upgrading the generators, which will add 10 megawatts of generating capacity to the old 44 megawatt system.

Building a Home: On July 29, 1907, the Home of the Good Shepherd opened in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood. Operated by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the institution was originally established on Capitol Hill in 1890 as a home for "troubled girls." Former resident Jackie (Moen) Kalani recalls her own stay at the Home as a teenager in 1949 in this oral history.

Placing a Stone: On August 1, 1908, the cornerstone was laid for the Governor's Mansion in Olympia. Over the years, little maintenance work was done on the building, but after a massive restoration effort was completed in 1975, it was added to both the National Register of Historic Places and the State of Washington Heritage Register in 1979.

Days at Longacres: At the beginning of the twentieth century, The Meadows was the premier venue for horse racing in Washington. On August 3, 1933, Longacres racetrack opened in Renton and "reined" supreme for almost 60 years, most notably under the direction of Morris Alhadeff.

Over the Breakers: In 1792, Joseph Whidbey circumnavigated a large island in Puget Sound, which Captain George Vancouver promptly named after his young officer. At first, both men thought that Whidbey Island was part of the mainland. They were deceived by a narrow inlet, which they later determined to be a passage around the north end of the island. Vancouver named this Deception Pass, and on July 31, 1935, the opening of the Deception Pass Bridge finally connected the island to the rest of the state.

Quote of the Week

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.

                                    --Jane Austen

Image of the Week

On July 30, 1954, the Blue Bridge was dedicated between Pasco and Kennewick.