On December 12, 1996, at 7 p.m., the It's About Time Writers Reading Series convenes at The Seattle Public Library, University Branch, for its 89th reading. Esther Altshul Helfgott (b. 1941) founded t...
On January 5, 1997, Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney (b. 1936) is appointed to a vacated seat in the Washington State House of Representatives. A Democrat, she will represent the 46th District, which covers S...
On January 20, 1997, at the Seattle Center, Festál celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day in its inaugural event. Festál is a series of diverse community-based festivals that pr...
On January 22, 1997, the State Route 509 cable-stayed bridge over the Thea Foss Waterway opens to traffic. It is one of only 13 such bridges in the nation and is part of a $165.3 million project that ...
On Thursday, January 23, 1997, Tacoma's Blair Bridge, located on the tideflats near the waterfront, closes and demolition begins. This bascule drawbridge spanning the Blair Waterway, along with the Mu...
On April 8, 1997, the Tacoma City Council votes to build the Click! Network and offer cable television and telecommunications services using fiber-optic cable. The move places the City in competition ...
On April 13, 1997, the Henry Art Gallery, located in Seattle on the University of Washington campus, reopens and celebrates its major renovation and expansion. Thousands of donors have already attende...
On April 19, 1997, a teary-eyed Senate minority leader, Sidney R. "Sid" Snyder (b. 1926), faces reporters and angrily outlines his growing frustrations with the sharply partisan tenor of the Senate. A...
On May 21, 1997, the Washington State Transportation Commission renames Tacoma's Eleventh Street Bridge (or City Waterway Bridge) the Murray Morgan Bridge. The 1,748-foot steel truss vertical lift-spa...
On May 23, 1997, legendary folk singer Pete Seeger (1919-2014) begins a four-day appearance at the Northwest Folklife Festival at Seattle Center. He has been lured to the annual free festival upon lea...
On May 27, 1997, the Port of Seattle adopts Resolution 3245, approving the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the Port and Federal Aviation Administration. The Resolution also aut...
On June 17, 1997, a narrow 50.8 percent majority of state voters participating in a special election approve a $300 million funding package for a new Seahawks Stadium to replace the Kingdome. Microsof...