Now & Then

Paul Dorpat digs into our rich local history, sharing images and stories from Seattle’s past.

Pacific NW magazine

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THEN: Seattle bon vivant and amateur photographer Max Loudon took this photo featuring his beloved Indian Motorcycle during the 1918 pandemic. His sister Grace Loudon McAdams, second from the right, perches side saddle amidst masked friends on a Third Avenue sidewalk half a block south of Washington Street.

April 2, 2020 at 7:00 am

A deadly influenza kept Seattle indoors and in masks in 1918

“I HAD A little bird, and its name was Enza. I opened the window and in-flew-Enza.” In the fall of 1918, this was not just...

Family of “The Boys in the Boat” and of famed shell-maker George Pocock and coach Al Ulbrickson pose outside the ASUW Shell House. The ramp from the Shell House to Lake Washington extends only a handful of yards, so with the hardiness of an oarsman, Jean Sherrard shed his socks and shoes, rolled his pants to his knees and waded into near-freezing water to secure this wide shot depicting the full girth of the building. Descendants posing between the oars, approximating the positions of their ancestors in the “Then” photo, are (from left) Jennifer Huffman, Judy Willman and Fred Rantz, granddaughter, daughter and son, respectively, of rower Joe Rantz; Nicci Burrell, granddaughter of rower George Hunt; Colby White, John White, Loren White and Colby White Jr., son, great-grandson, great-grandson and grandson, respectively, of rower John White; Jeff Day, Kris Day, John Day, children of rower Chuck Day; Joseph and Susan Hanshaw, son-in-law and daughter of rower Roger Morris; (front, from left) Marilynn Moch, Maya Sackepp and BJ Cummings, daughter, great-grandchild and granddaughter, respectively, of coxswain Bobby Moch. Other descendants are (far left) Lindsay and AK Ulbrickson, great-grandchildren of coach Al Ulbrickson; (right rear, from left) Alvin Ulbrickson III and Rinda Ulbrickson, grandchildren of coach Al Ulbrickson; Ray Willman, son-in-law of rower Joe Rantz; (right front, from left) Nathan Pocock, Jim and Beth Pocock, Sue Pocock-Saul, Dave and Katie Kusske, grand-grand nephew, grand nephew and grand niece-in-law, granddaughter, grandson-in-law and granddaughter, respectively, of famed shell-builder George Pocock; and Chris Eckmann, grandson of athletic director Ray Eckmann.

March 26, 2020 at 7:00 am

The UW ‘Boys in the Boat’ rowing ‘home’ that launched a repudiation of prewar Hitler

IMPOSING OUTSIDE, cavernous inside, yet somehow out of sight — that’s the ASUW Shell House. Tucked behind tall trees near Husky Stadium at the end...

March 19, 2020 at 7:00 am

‘Roughing It’ on Seattle’s waterfront with Mark Twain

IN THE HOT, dry summer of 1895, virgin timber burned throughout the Pacific Northwest. For locals who only seven years before had witnessed the Great...

THEN: Behind a chain-link fence and west of Sand Point Way from an undeveloped bluff at Northeast 61st Street stands the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) building, circa 1960, three years before its dedication. It was built in 1946 as an airplane-parts hangar for nearby Sand Point Naval Air Station. Rising above the structure is the Hawthorne Hills neighborhood. (Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, Seattle)

March 12, 2020 at 7:00 am

Moving the Northwest’s historical records would make them hard to access

“Public access to government records strengthens democracy by allowing Americans to claim their rights of citizenship, hold their government accountable and understand their history.” —...

February 27, 2020 at 7:00 am

The future of a pristine peninsula (now Seward Park) through the eyes of the city

PLAYING OUTLAW Butch Cassidy in 1969, Paul Newman nonchalantly expressed one of my favorite movie maxims: “Boy, I got vision, and the rest of the...

Courtesy the Peterson Brothers
THEN: On Monday, Jan. 5, 1880, snow began to fall on Seattle. And it kept on falling. In eight days, 64 inches of snow fell. It was, and still is, a local record. Schools were closed, telegraph lines went down, trains stopped, shipping stalled and a few photographs were taken ? including this one by the Peterson brothers in front of their studio at the foot of Cherry Street. On the right is Yesler?s Hall; farther up the hill, on Fourth Avenue, is the First Baptist Church.

February 20, 2020 at 7:00 am

The territorial governor wrote in 1880 that ice and snow were rare in Western Washington — the same day a record snowstorm buried Seattle

SINCE 2005, WHEN I began contributing photos to this column, whenever flakes of snow begin to fall, I pack a camera bag and hit the...

THEN: About to cross the Snoqualmie River and cruising northbound on U.S. Highway 10 past the Riverside Tavern is a 1934 Ford Model 40 Deluxe Tudor Sedan, according to our auto informant, Bob Carney. An eye-catching corner sign advertises Alpine Ice Cream, produced by Alpine Dairy, formerly Northwestern Milk Condensing Co. and Issaquah Creamery and later part of the Darigold Cooperative. (Courtesy Fall City Historical Society)

February 13, 2020 at 7:00 am

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Now & Then

Now & Then

Latest Headlines

A deadly influenza kept Seattle indoors and in masks in 1918

The UW ‘Boys in the Boat’ rowing ‘home’ that launched a repudiation of prewar Hitler

‘Roughing It’ on Seattle’s waterfront with Mark Twain

Moving the Northwest’s historical records would make them hard to access

The future of a pristine peninsula (now Seward Park) through the eyes of the city

The territorial governor wrote in 1880 that ice and snow were rare in Western Washington — the same day a record snowstorm buried Seattle

In riverside Fall City, all roads lead to The Roadhouse

Now & Then: Tripping the light fantastic at Seattle’s Trianon Ballroom, ‘Cupid’s headquarters’

Every mom-and-pop store from Seattle’s yesteryear stocked its own story

Connecting thirsty Seattleites with the ‘life blood’ of water

Now & Then

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