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Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.

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This Week Then

3/16/2023

News Then, History Now

Here to Explore

On March 22, 1778, Captain James Cook named Cape Flattery in modern-day Clallam County but failed to discover the nearby entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Captains Robert Gray and George Vancouver met near the same spot 14 years later. Vancouver left to explore Puget Sound, and Gray went on to investigate the Columbia River.

Bright Homes and More

On March 22, 1886, Seattle agents of Thomas Edison switched on the first central incandescent-lighting plant west of the Rockies. Soon enough the city's streets and homes were illuminated by this innovation, which was quickly used to power streetcars as well. This led to the creation of a regional electric monopoly, which triggered the development of municipally owned Seattle City Light.

Cities Galore

On March 16, 1891, Lynden incorporated in Whatcom County, and Marysville in Snohomish County incorporated four days later. Other cities celebrating birthdays this week are Ferndale, which incorporated on March 19, 1907, and Selah, incorporated on March 17, 1919.

Broadcast Wonder

On March 16, 1958, KING-TV's Seattle Bandstand debuted and became an instant hit with Northwest teens. Modeled after Dick Clark's Philadelphia-based, nationally broadcast American Bandstand, the two-hour weekly program launched the careers of several local bands and led to the creation of similar shows on NBC affiliates in Yakima, Spokane, and Portland.

Buried Under

On March 22, 2014, a catastrophic landslide near the community of Oso -- between Arlington and Darrington in Snohomish County -- killed 43 people, making it the deadliest landslide disaster in United States history. Besides loss of life, the disaster caused severe impacts to the local economy and environment, and damaged a half-mile section of State Route 530 that took months to repair.

Stolen Plunder

On March 18, 2020, the ornate, custom-designed bronze gates created by internationally renowned sculptor George Tsutakawa were stolen from Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum. Days later, one of the gates was recovered largely intact, but the other had been cut up for scrap and was beyond repair. Tsutakawa died in 1997, but his family had the original design plans, and his son Gerard, also a metal sculptor, fabricated a mate for the surviving gate.

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Image of the Week

Puyallup held its first Daffodil Parade on March 17, 1934.

Quote of the Week

"If I could choose an amendment to add to the Constitution, it would be the Equal Rights Amendment. I think we have achieved that through legislation, but legislation can be repealed, it can be altered. So I would like my granddaughters, when they pick up the Constitution, to see that notion – that women and men are persons of equal stature – I’d like them to see that is a basic principle of our society.”

--Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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