“I’ve been doing this for so many years that I just envision it, I build it layer by layer, and it comes out the way I want it.” Growing flowers and arranging bouquets is second nature to Lue Thao, a first-generation Hmong flower farmer and owner of Thai Tao Farm…. [ Keep reading ]
“It’s about bringing in a community, having that experience that you’re not going to get with streaming, you’re only going to get with a room full of people.” After more than 50 years of catering to students, film buffs, and neighbors looking for a space to gather and belong, Seattle’s… [ Keep reading ]
The Pioneer Square Pergola by Michelle M. Our city is full of unique places that play a significant role in shaping our communities and our individual and collective identities. As Seattle continues to grow and change, we asked the community to share some of the local places that hold compelling… [ Keep reading ]
As part of our “Stories in Place” series, the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods collaborated with community member Tracey Thompson to celebrate a group of women known as the High Point Mommas. Tracey, whose mother was part of the Mommas, grew up in High Point in the 1960s and 1970s. She… [ Keep reading ]
The Hill by Amber Flame As part of our Stories in Place series, local artist, writer, activist, and educator Amber Flame reminisces about sunny days on “the hill” next to Spectrum Dance Theater on Lake Washington with her friend and mentor, Terry Koyano. After Terry’s death in 2015, Amber developed… [ Keep reading ]
East Kong Yick By Elana Lim Twin four-story brick buildings, East and West Kong Yick, were opened as the center of a new Chinatown in 1910.[i] Back then, the 1889 Washington State Constitution forbade “aliens” to own property,[ii] but over 170 Chinese pioneering men found a way to work within… [ Keep reading ]
Grandpa’s Room by Betty Lau Grandpa moved out; our extended family having become even more extended. Mom, dad, two younger siblings and I, Aunty Alice Louie with her three, and Dad’s 14-year-old cousin Ken Lowe, all lived above our machine laundry in an 1892 building in the remnants of the… [ Keep reading ]
Summer Lovin’ at Mt. Baker Park by Aviona Creatrix Rodriguez Brown Mount Baker Park, filled with laughterCountless hours of my youth-Watchful eyes-music and handmade tacos-Bottomless, butt-i-ful, whiny babies.We daydream and wonder where the planes and cars are going to, and coming from.As cold envelops my toes burying them into the… [ Keep reading ]
Did you know that Seattle’s Jackson Street was once home to a thriving after-hours jazz scene? From 1937 and 1951, the street’s corridor between Fifth Avenue South and Fourteenth Avenue South was often bustling with musicians and patrons of all backgrounds ducking in and out of clubs like the Black… [ Keep reading ]
Refuge in the City: Union Bay Natural Area by Eleanor Boba This special place in Northeast Seattle goes by several names: the fill, the old dump, the Union Bay Natural Area or UBNA. In my family, we call it the marsh. That said, this place is much more than a… [ Keep reading ]
