On April 26, 1987, a bill approving creation of the Washington Wine Commission is sent to Governor Booth Gardner for his signature. The bill with its controversial funding plan has passed in the House...
On May 5, 1987, Port of Everett Commissioners unanimously vote to sell 143 acres of Port property for $43.5 million to the U.S. Navy for the purpose of building a homeport for the carrier USS Nimitz a...
On the evening of Friday May 16, 1987, a Spring Rapfest hip-hop concert is held at the Paramount Theatre (911 Pine Street). It features an up-and-coming local rapper, Sir Mix-A-Lot, as the opening act...
On May 24, 1987, a small-plane collision near Ritzville kills three members of the same family. The family takes off in a Cessna 172 and a Piper Cherokee P-28 from Pru Field at Ritzville, en route to ...
On May 27, 1987, while installing an irrigation sprinkler pipe through an apple orchard on Grant Road in East Wenatchee near the Columbia River, orchard workers Moises Aguirre and Mark Mickles uncover...
On June 10, 1987, Intiman Theatre opens George Bernard Shaw's (1856-1950) Man And Superman as the first production of its 15th season and the first to be put on in the newly renovated Seattle Playhous...
On July 8, 1987, three longtime workers at the Issaquah Skyport, a center for sky sports for nearly 30 years, make one last early morning sky dive. After years of controversy over the future of the ai...
On September 27, 1987, more than 2,000 people march 6.2 miles in Seattle to raise money for AIDS treatment and research. Starting at Memorial Stadium, the walkers proceed down Broad Street to Myr...
On October 13, 1987, two gunmen walk into an auto body shop on Pasco's east side and open fire with automatic weapons. The six men in the shop dive for cover but only one escapes death. All of the vic...
On October 24, 1987, the West Seattle Branch, The Seattle Public Library reopens after an eight-month, $620,000 renovation. The work includes removal from skylights of black paint that had been applie...
On November 5, 1987, biologists with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife haul out perhaps the biggest fish ever seen in Lake Washington. Weighing in at 670 pounds and measuring 11 feet long...
On November 9, 1987, Democrat Calvin B. "Cal" Anderson (1948-1995) becomes Washington state's first openly gay legislator when the King County Council appoints him to a vacant seat in the House of Rep...
On December 1, 1987, NASA selects Boeing to be the prime contractor for design and construction of the science and living modules for the International Space Station. Boeing beats Martin Marietta for ...
On January 30, 1988, Friendship One, a United Airlines Boeing 747-SP, lands at Seattle's Boeing Field at 8:45 a.m. after circling the globe in 36 hours, 54 minutes, and 15 seconds, breaking the speed ...
On March 30, 1988, explorer and educator Helen Thayer (b. 1937) becomes the first woman to trek solo to the magnetic North Pole. Accompanied by her dog Charlie, a husky mix trained to warn of nearby p...
On April 8, 1988, workers complete primary excavation of a pair of 18-foot diameter tubes and five stations for the downtown Seattle transit tunnel. Work had begun on March 6, 1987, and the tunnel wil...
On May 1, 1988, the new issue of Seattle music and pop-culture magazine The Rocket includes, among its many "Musicians Wanted" classified advertisements, a "Drummer Wanted" notice written and purchase...
On May 18, 1988, tribal fishing activist and U.S. military veteran David Sohappy Sr. (1925-1991) is released on federal parole from the Geiger Corrections Center in Spokane. With his son, Sohappy has ...
On June 5, 1988, Nirvana, an obscure grunge band from Aberdeen, plays a set at the Central Tavern in Seattle's Pioneer Square. Among the handful of people in attendance on a quiet Sunday evening are&n...
On June 10, 1988, the King County Council vote unanimously to put on the ballot an $85.8 million program to buy open space, acquire trails, and expand the Seattle Aquarium in the September 20 primary.
On June 13, 1988, the Seattle City Council adopts the Harborfront Public Improvement Plan. City planners envision a central waterfront that embraces maritime history, provides view corridors and publi...
On June 18, 1988, 72 descendants of Washington settlers reverse their ancestors and petition the Bureau of Indian Affairs in support of federal recognition of the Duwamish Tribe.
On June 23, 1988, the Washington State Convention & Trade Center officially opens. The facility cost $186 million and is designed with 54 meeting rooms to host conferences and trade shows in Seatt...
In 1988, the Washington Mutual Tower opens. The postmodern skyscraper located at 1201 3rd Avenue is designed by the New York architectural firm of Kohn Pederson Fox Associates. It is 735 feet tall, wi...