The 30 Women Who Built Seattle

From an LGBTQ pioneer whose brothel biz likely saved the city to Kshama Sawant’s minimum wage victory, bold women have fashioned Seattle into someplace bigger, smarter, and more fun since the very beginning. Also in this issue: our guide to kids health, the story of an otherworldly octopus, and a Vashon Island home remodel.

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

'Tis the Season

5 Holiday Events You Shouldn't Miss

Two takes on The Nutcracker, RuPaul alums, and Deck the Hall Ball’s knockout lineup.

12/12/2019 By Stefan Milne

MONTHLY PLANNER

The Top Things to Do in Seattle This December

Angel Olsen brings her epic new album to the Moore, Trevor Noah might be the hardest working guy in comedy, and the king of weird fiction has a new novel.

11/26/2019 By Stefan Milne

Party of Many

Brandi Carlile Brings Her Subversive Pop to the Seattle Symphony

The singer extends her wild year into 2020 with a trio of concerts at Benaroya Hall.

11/26/2019 By Stefan Milne

Cover Story

The 30 Women Who Shaped Seattle

11/26/2019 Edited by Allison Williams

Eat & Drink

WHAT WE'RE EATING NOW

Behold, the Mochi Doughnut

Our picks for December include fiery Sichuan food and some seriously fancy garlic knots.

11/26/2019 By Seattle Met Staff

News Feed

A Noodle Phenom Returns, a Northwest Legend Shutters

This month: Sitka and Spruce's final days, a noodle house comeback in Chinatown–International District, and El Gaucho swanky new digs.

11/26/2019 By Allecia Vermillion

TREND

In Seattle, Mall Food Goes Local

Forget the food court. Shopping centers around the region are reinventing themselves as destination dining.

11/26/2019 By Allecia Vermillion

Anniversary Dinner

21 Seattle Restaurants Marking Major Milestones

Favorites that celebrated significant anniversaries in 2019.

11/26/2019 Edited by Jaime Archer

REVIEW

Maximillian Petty's Cult Cheeseburger Finds a Home at Eden Hill Provisions

The chef's Big Max didn't quite fit the intricate fare at Eden Hill. Now the creation lives in his latest bistro in Queen Anne.

11/26/2019 By Allecia Vermillion

Health & Wellness

THE WEIGHT OF BIAS

One Seattle Woman's Eight-Year Battle for Breast Reduction Surgery

In this personal essay, Reiny Cohen's experience illuminates how size discrimination is all too common in the medical world.

11/26/2019 By Reiny Cohen

Staying Active

7 Fun Ways to Keep Your Kids in Motion

Exercise doesn’t need to be football or laps around the track.

11/26/2019 By Lily Hansen and Courtney Cummings

Step by Step

What the Heck Is a Walking School Bus?

One local researcher revives a bygone practice—the stroll to school.

11/26/2019 By Lily Hansen

Tech Time Out

Does Your Kid Need a Digital Detox?

Kids’ fixation on digital devices shows no sign of powering down. Is it time for technological temperance?

11/26/2019 By Emily Alhadeff

Learning in the Dirt

Washington's Outdoor Preschools Let Kids Embrace Nature

They might offer health benefits, too.

11/26/2019 By Stefan Milne

Eat Your Veggies

5 Ways to Get Kids to Love Produce

How to get picky eaters to stop arguing and embrace the brassicas.

11/26/2019 By Stefan Milne

CHILDREN’S WELLNESS GUIDE

How to Keep Your Kids Healthy

Acrobatic exercise? Outdoor preschool? Tips from chefs? Oh, yes.

11/26/2019 Edited by Stefan Milne Illustrations by Mike Holm

Home & Real Estate

HABITAT

How a Former Cannabis Maven Transformed Her Waterfront Vashon Island Home

Susie Gress's TV-famous gathering space brims with Northwest contemporary architecture.

11/26/2019 By Karin Vandraiss

News & City Life

FEATURE

The Octopus from Outer Space

Seattle’s most beguiling sea creatures were once feared and hunted—and even wrestled—for sport. But new research and a few surprising encounters are changing how we view them. A story in eight parts.

12/02/2019 By James Ross Gardner

QUOTE UNQUOTE

D’Vonne Pickett, Jr., Delivers a New Package Hub in the Central District

“I’ve always been one to blaze my own trail. I just feel like I’m built for it.”

11/26/2019 By Allison Williams

EXPLAINER

Macy’s Landmark Store Is Closing for Good

The storied retailer at Fourth and Pine shutters in February. Both its iconic star and holiday tradition lose some luster.

11/26/2019 By Ryan Phelan

NEWSMAKERS

A Perfect Party with a Champion Bull Rider and a Magical Labradoodle

Here’s who else we’d invite if we could entertain November’s most interesting visitors and locals.

11/26/2019 By Rosin Saez Illustrations by Jane Sherman

WIRED

Washington’s Net Neutrality Laws Could Help Keep the Internet Fair

As the nation battles for the internet’s soul, Washington’s network neutrality rules can be a model for other states.

11/26/2019 By Rosin Saez

SNAP JUDGMENT

Why Do Seattleites Hate Using Umbrellas?

So we get a lot of rain. Yet in one of the most inclement months of the year, locals retain a sort of perverse pride in eschewing the humble parasol.

11/26/2019 By Courtney Cummings

FRUIT OF THE BOOM

The Long-Awaited Cosmic Crisp Could Reshape Washington’s Apple Industry

Why this one apple’s debut is a big deal.

11/26/2019 By Allison Williams

Behind the Scenes

How We Shrunk the Cosmos

Art director Nate Bullis and photographer Carlton Canary made a miniature space-scape for our lead story about apples. Because of course they did.

11/26/2019 By Nate Bullis

shade index

The 7 Santas You Meet in Seattle

He knows when you aren’t shopping locally.

11/26/2019 By Mac Hubbard

Women Making History

6 Seattle Luminaries on Their First Big Wins

From judicial prowess to championship bona fides.

11/26/2019 By Allison Williams, Allecia Vermillion, and Lily Hansen

Such a Socialite

Guendolen Plestcheeff Was the Ultimate Seattle Influencer

Sure, she threw an epic soiree, but the daughter of one of the city's founding families also oversaw the Seattle Historical Society.

11/26/2019 By Allecia Vermillion

Local Lore

Lou Graham Was Seattle's Madam with the Mostest

Meet the brothel owner who helped fund the city's revival after the Great Fire of 1889.

11/26/2019 By Allison Williams

Glass. Ceiling. Shattered.

Meet the Women Who Fought for Their Place in Seattle Politics

Political pioneers like Bertha Knight Landes, Ruby Chow, and Patty Murray are the real MVPs.

11/26/2019 By Stefan Milne, Courtney Cummings, Lily Hansen, and Sam Jones

History Makers

8 Legacies That Visionary Women Gave Seattle

Among them: a tugboat enterprise, a life-saving children's hospital, a literature hub.

11/26/2019 By Allison Williams, Stefan Milne, Allecia Vermillion, and Lily Hansen

STUFF OF LEGENDS

Four Seattle Stories. Four Historic Artifacts.

Souvenirs of the past.

11/26/2019 By Allison Williams

Lady in Blue

Meet Sylvia Hunsicker, Seattle's First Policewoman

In 1911, the trailblazing cop donned an altered man's uniform and didn't take any guff.

11/26/2019 By James Ross Gardner

The Early Years

3 Seattle Pioneers You Need to Know

How Lizzie Ordway, Emily Inez Denny, and Princess Angeline made their marks before the turn of the century.

11/26/2019 By Sam Jones, Allison Williams, and Rosin Saez

Style & Shopping

Nostalgia Is the New Black

How 2 Seattle-Set Films Inspire Style Today

Say Anything and 10 Things I Hate About You hit milestone anniversaries this year, but the style therein remains as fashionable as ever.

11/26/2019 By Kelly Skahan

Travel & Outdoors

Ice Ice, Baby

Bozeman’s Frozen Waterfalls Are a Winter Playground

If you’re crazy enough to want to climb them, Montana’s sporty town is the perfect place for it.

11/26/2019 By Allison Williams