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Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.

This Week Then

7/24/2025

Seattle's civil rights sit-in, City Council chambers, 1963

News Then, History Now

Big Conflagration

On July 26, 1879, Seattle's first major fire destroyed Henry Yesler's sawmill, a significant portion of Yesler's Wharf, and a number of factories, warehouses, hotels, and homes. On July 30, 1914, a flash fire destroyed Seattle's Grand Trunk Pacific dock. A massive fire devasted Twisp on July 24, 1924, and on July 24, 1994, the Tyee Creek Fire began north of Wenatchee, and burned 135,000 acres over 33 days.

Final Oration

President Warren G. Harding received a warm Seattle sendoff after giving what turned out to be his last public speech on July 27, 1923. He fell ill en route to San Francisco and died six days later. In 1925 a memorial created by Alice Robertson Carr was erected in Woodland Park Zoo, where the president had spoken at a Boy Scout jamboree, but it was demolished in the late 1970s and is now buried under the central knoll in the zoo's African Savanna exhibit. 

Boeing's Elation

On July 26, 1928, Boeing Field opened in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood, a day William Boeing called, "… just about the happiest one of my life." Many Boeing aircraft took their maiden flights from the field, including the B-17 Flying Fortress, which first rose skyward on July 28, 1935.

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Image of the Week

World's largest omelet, Chehalis, July 24,  1931

On July 24, 1931, approximately 10,000 breakfast-lovers showed up in Chehalis to enjoy platefuls of the world's largest omelet, made with 7,200 eggs.

Quote of the Week

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest."

—Elie Wiesel

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First sit-in arrests of Seattle's civil rights movement occur on July 25, 1963.
First sit-in of the civil rights movement in Seattle occurs on July 1, 1963.
Clinton, Gordon Stanley (1920-2011)
Seattle votes down open housing on March 10, 1964.
Seattle City Council approves open housing ordinance on April 19, 1968.
Black Panther Party Seattle Chapter (1968-1978)
Gossett, Larry (b. 1945)
Riots erupt in Seattle's Central Area after Franklin High protestors are sentenced on July 1, 1968.
Seattle Neighborhoods: Central Area -- Thumbnail History
State Supreme Court issues decision in Franklin High School sit-in case on January 14, 1971.
Tacoma's Olof Bull plays his fiddle on the summit of Mount Rainier on July 28, 1896.
Woman Suffrage Crusade, 1848-1920
The Mountaineers
Suffragists join The Mountaineers outing to Mount Rainier and plant an A-Y-P Exposition flag and a
Munter, Herbert A. (1895-1970)
Herbert Munter becomes the first pilot to fly an airplane over Mount Rainier on July 25, 1920.
Lieutenant John W. Hodgkin, U.S. Air Force, lands his ski-equipped Piper Cub on top of Mount Rainier on April 12, 1951.
Seattle's first major fire destroys Yesler's Mill, much of Yesler's Wharf, and dozens of other structures on July 26, 1879.
Yesler, Henry L. (1810?-1892)
Henry Yesler's Mill and Wharf (Seattle)
Seattle's Grand Trunk Pacific dock burns on July 30, 1914.
Fire devastates Twisp on July 24, 1924.
Tyee Creek Fire burns 135,000 acres for 33 days north of Wenatchee, beginning on July 24, 1994.
Washington voters pick Warren G. Harding for president and Louis F. Hart as governor on November 2, 1920.
President Warren Harding makes final speeches of his life in Seattle on July 27, 1923.
Harding Memorial in Seattle's Woodland Park is dedicated on March 29, 1925.
Woodland Park Zoo
Chief Seattle Council, Boy Scouts of America
Boeing Field, Seattle
Seattle Neighborhoods: Georgetown -- Thumbnail History
Boeing, William Edward (1881-1956)
Boeing Flying Fortress B-17 prototype takes her maiden flight on July 28, 1935.
Captive orca whale Namu arrives in Seattle on July 27, 1965.
Namu the Killer Whale premieres at Orpheum Theatre in Seattle on August 1, 1966.
First unlimited hydroplane race on the Columbia River occurs at Tri-Cities on July 24, 1966.
Two hydroplane racing fans discover the skull of Kennewick Man on the bank of the Columbia River on July 28, 1996.
Kennewick Man (The Ancient One)
Seattle Pop Festival held in Woodinville beginning on July 25, 1969.
Hendrix, Jimi (1942-1970)
Jimi Hendrix plays Sicks
Jimi Hendrix dies in London on September 18, 1970, and is buried in Renton.
Chehalis -- Thumbnail History
Record-breaking 7,200-egg omelet is cooked in a record-breaking frying pan in Chehalis on July 24, 1931.