Topic: Business
Limestone quarrying and lime processing began at Roche Harbor, located on the north end of San Juan Island in San Juan County, in the early 1880s. Under the leadership of John S. McMillin (1855-1936),...
Jay Rockey was the director of public relations for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition) and the founder of Jay Rockey Public Relations, later The Rockey Company, which became the lea...
Through hard work, dedication, and (to some degree) an interest in bridge, Nat Rogers (1898-1990) founded and helped grow Van Rogers & Waters, Inc. (now Univar USA) into North America's largest chemic...
Victor Rosellini founded a string of acclaimed and successful restaurants in downtown Seattle and became known as Seattle's premiere host. He opened Rosellini's 610 in 1950, and Rosellini's Four-10 in...
The history of Tacoma cannot be told without the story of William Rust. Born into a Quaker family in Philadelphia, he ventured West with dreams of finding fortune in the gold rush. Using the skills an...
Ryan General Contractors was founded in 1991 by Donald Bruce McIntosh (b. 1951) as Steelcraft Construction. The company specialized in pre-engineered and structural steel buildings. A few years later,...
James M. Ryan, known in Seattle as "Mr. Downtown," was first president and then chairman of UNICO Properties. UNICO Properties manages the 10-acre parcel of property in the heart of downtown Seattle ...
Seattle restaurateur Patricia McGuinness Ryan was the long-time proprietor of the Denny Regrade's popular Two Bells Tavern. Under her management between 1982 and 1999, the Two Bells became a neighborh...
The visionary behind Washington's esteemed Red Willow Vineyard is Mike Sauer (b. 1947), a farmboy from Toppenish who studied agricultural economics at Washington State University. After marrying fello...
The School of Visual Concepts, originally called the New School of Visual Concepts, trained students and professionals in marketing, communications, and design skills. When founded in 1971 by husband-...
Of all the Pacific Northwest's pioneering record companies, it was Seafair Records that perhaps best embodied Seattle's innocent early days when a good honest effort would bring success. A true "mom ...
Piers 54, 55, and 56 are home to today's Ivar's Acres of Clams restaurant and the renowned Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. The Northern Pacific Railroad built the piers during the golden age of Seattle's mari...
This file contains an undated, unsigned letter describing what it was like working at Seattle City Light in the early years, around 1910. The letter is held in the Seattle Municipal Archives. It descr...
In 1914, George G. Black wanted a new home for the manufacture of his Black Bear brand of overalls. He was concerned for the health and welfare of his employees and sought a departure from the sweatsh...
Seattle's Belltown neighborhood just north of downtown was home to the Northwest's Film Row even before the dawn of "talkies" in the late 1920s. Hollywood's major movie studios based regional distribu...
This reminiscence by the then-bank teller Dorothea Pfister (later Nordstrand) (1916-2011) recounts the events of a rather alarming day at the Green Lake State Bank, located in the Green Lake neighborh...
Shelly’s Leg (1973-1977) was Seattle’s first disco, an unapologetically gay establishment that welcomed revelers of every sexuality. It was named after Shelly Bauman, a Florida transplant ...
A businessman and civic booster, owner of Sick’s Rainier Brewing Company and the Seattle Rainiers baseball team, Emil George Sick was a respected and influential figure in Seattle for some 30 ye...
Phil Smart started selling automobiles in 1952 in Seattle and built the area's first and most-successful Mercedes-Benz dealership. He gave much of his time and effort to community service, particularl...
While Snohomish County's journalistic history broadly mirrors patterns seen throughout the state, the county can claim one of the earliest territorial newspapers, six labor and socialist publications,...
At nearly 1.7 million square feet, Southcenter Mall in the south King County city of Tukwila enjoys the distinction of being Washington's largest mall. Planning for it began in 1957, but the project n...
The Spirit of Washington Dinner Train brought the romance of the rails to King County's Eastside for 15 years from 1992 to 2007. For a price guests enjoyed an excursion through the communities east of...
In this original essay, Spokane historian Sharon De Mills-Wood writes about the Broadview Dairy, a turn-of-the-century business that grew along with the burgeoning city, first delivering milk in horse...
The White Elephant stores began in Spokane in 1946 when John R. Conley Sr. started selling Army surplus materials before converting his business into a sporting goods store. As he began to welcome the...