On May 31, 2004, 150 passengers are evacuated when a fire halts the Seattle Monorail's "blue train." The train, one of two four-car Alweg trains built for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, caught fire wi...
On June 2, 2004, close to half of Shaw Island's 200 or so residents gather at the ferry terminal to bid farewell to the four Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist who until Memorial Day weekend ran the ...
On Saturday, June 5, 2004, the Library Connection @ Southcenter, a storefront library at the Westfield Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, holds its official opening celebration. The innovative 3,168-square-...
On June 19, 2004, the new High Point Branch, The Seattle Public Library, opens at 3411 SW Raymond Street. This is the ninth branch to open as part of Libraries For All, a $196.4 million bond issue pa...
On June 26, 2004, the North East Branch, The Seattle Public Library reopens at 6801 35th Avenue NE after a $4,765,276 expansion project. This is the 10th branch opened as part of Libraries For All, a ...
On July 10, 2004, it is announced that Elliot Marks (b.1945) -- longtime Washington state and Northwest regional director of The Nature Conservancy -- would be stepping down after 27 years of leading ...
On July 10, 2004, the new Beacon Hill Branch, The Seattle Public Library, opens at 2821 Beacon Avenue S. This is the 11th branch to open as part of Libraries For All, a $196.4 million bond issue pass...
On July 22, 2004, Hope Academic Enrichment Center is incorporated as a non-profit organization. Begun by Mohamed A. Ali as an informal tutoring program, the center is located in St. James Place in Whi...
On August 12, 2004, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission gives Old Man House State Park, located on the eastern edge of the Kitsap Peninsula, to the Suquamish tribe. The one-acre park,...
On August 19, 2004, the Airport Communities Coalition drops its opposition to the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport third runway after spending $15 million over 10 years campaigning and l...
On August 22, 2004, the Columbia Branch, The Seattle Public Library, reopens at 4721 Rainier Avenue S after remodeling. In order to respect and preserve the historic character of the original 1911 bui...
In the fall of 2004, Washington winery Cayuse Vineyards harvests Syrah, Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from En Chamberlin Vineyard, a 10-acre plot in the Walla Walla American Viticulture A...
On September 3, 2004, Mayor Greg Nickels (b. 1955) presents the second annual Seattle Mayor's Arts Awards at Seattle Center as part of the opening ceremonies for the Bumbershoot music and arts festiva...
On October 1, 2004, Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (b. 1973) hits three singles to break an 84-year-old major league record and electrify a packed house at Safeco Field. That night he tops ...
On October 4, 2004, Linda Buck (b. 1947), of Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is named a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology. Buck shares the award with Richard Ax...
On October 12, 2004, the Seattle Storm wins the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) championship, becoming only the third professional sports team in the city's history to earn a national t...
On October 25, 2004, the King County Council approves three controversial ordinances, known collectively as the Critical Areas Ordinance or CAO, that limit rural development, in an effort to protect t...
On November 2, 2004, Washington voters produce the closest governor's race in United States history as they split virtually evenly between Democratic Attorney General Christine Gregoire (b. 1947) and ...
On December 10, 2004, a special state historical court clears Nisqually Chief Leschi (1808-1858) of murder charges. Chief Leschi was hanged in 1858 for allegedly murdering Col. A. Benton Moses. At the...
On December 13, 2004, the Allen Institute for Brain Science launches its Allen Brain Atlas, an online resource available to the public. The first batch of released data maps the location of nearly 2,0...
On December 21, 2004, Washington Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald and Governor Gary Locke announce that the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is ending construction of a ...
On December 29, 2004, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians' new Emerald Queen Casino opens in Fife in northern Pierce County, following reduction in road access to the original paddlewheel riverboat casino l...
On January 1, 2005, the Snohomish County Fire District takes over the operation and management of the Mountlake Terrace Fire Department, formally ending the existence of a fire department that was nea...
On January 15, 2005, the bipartisan King County Districting Committee adopts a map of nine districts for the Metropolitan King County Council to replace the existing 13-district map. The redistrictin...