OPEN SEASON

How the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Made Retail History

The annual event's local roots are kind of a big deal.

06/28/2021 By Zoe Sayler

Hunger Artists

Seattle Has a Weird Legacy of Fasting

Can renouncing food really improve your health? For a century, mystics, biohackers, and even one murderous Seattle doctor have sought—and sold—their own conc...

06/14/2021 By Stefan Milne Illustrations by Pete Ryan

Storied City

Seattle's Blue Moon Tavern and the Fight for Historical Buildings

The University District dive, featured in a new PBS show, turns 87 this year. Can it persist as a piece of living history?

01/15/2021 By Stefan Milne

Feature

A Brief History of Seattle, in Three Disasters

After the Great Seattle Fire and the Boeing Bust, the city showed a knack for reinvention. Can that same spirit pull us out of our current crisis?

07/13/2020 By James Ross Gardner

Peripatetic POTUS

Great(ish) Moments in Seattle Presidential Visits

Over the last 140 years, visits from our nation’s leader have prompted bee stings, wartime intrigue, and even the occasional jog around Green Lake.

12/23/2019 By Allecia Vermillion Illustrations by Tom Dougherty

"Holy Cats!"

All the Presidents' Stopovers (in Seattle)

What happens when POTUS comes calling.

12/23/2019 By Allecia Vermillion

The Buck Stops Here

Did Harry Really Give ’Em Hell in Bremerton?

Longtimers in Kitsap County swear the president’s rallying cry originated here. Scholars say otherwise.

12/23/2019 By Allecia Vermillion

The Other Warren G

Seattle Cancels Warren G. Harding

Our relationship with the scandal-plagued president? It’s complicated.

12/23/2019 By Allecia Vermillion

POTUS to the People

First Relatives Who Lived Local

Presidential kin who called Seattle home.

12/23/2019 By Allecia Vermillion

Peripatetic POTUS

Great(ish) Moments in Seattle Presidential Visits

Forget protests and motorcade traffic jams. Over the last 140 years, visits from our nation’s leader have prompted bee stings, wartime intrigue, and even the...

12/23/2019 By Allecia Vermillion Illustrations by Tom Dougherty

Ho Ho How

A (Seattle) Christmas Story: The Origins of the Santa Photo

In 1943, a Seattle photographer had the idea to take photos of kids with the big guy. But as retail stores close, will the tradition die?

12/10/2019 By Marisa Comeau-Kerege

Cover Story

The 30 Women Who Shaped Seattle

Bold women have fashioned Seattle into someplace bigger, smarter, and more fun since the very beginning.

11/26/2019 Edited by Allison Williams

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cover Story

The 30 Women Who Shaped 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 bigge...

11/26/2019 Edited by Allison Williams

History

How the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Made Retail History

Seattle Has a Weird Legacy of Fasting

Seattle's Blue Moon Tavern and the Fight for Historical Buildings

A Brief History of Seattle, in Three Disasters

Great(ish) Moments in Seattle Presidential Visits

All the Presidents' Stopovers (in Seattle)

Did Harry Really Give ’Em Hell in Bremerton?

Seattle Cancels Warren G. Harding

First Relatives Who Lived Local

Great(ish) Moments in Seattle Presidential Visits

Popular Content

A (Seattle) Christmas Story: The Origins of the Santa Photo

The 30 Women Who Shaped Seattle

8 Legacies That Visionary Women Gave Seattle

Meet the Women Who Fought for Their Place in Seattle Politics

Lou Graham Was Seattle's Madam with the Mostest

3 Seattle Pioneers You Need to Know

Meet Sylvia Hunsicker, Seattle's First Policewoman

Guendolen Plestcheeff Was the Ultimate Seattle Influencer

6 Seattle Luminaries on Their First Big Wins

The 30 Women Who Shaped Seattle

Latest Issue

Best of The City 2021