On August 10, 1996, the Washington State History Museum opens in a new $42 million building on Pacific Avenue in Tacoma. The museum will be one of the important features in the renaissance of downtown...
On September 6, 1996, ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) stages Cheap, the first show in its new $30.4 million complex, Kreielsheimer Place, in downtown Seattle. Seattle Times theater critic Misha Berson wr...
On September 17, 1996, King County voters defeat a $215 million bond proposal intended to fund habitat restoration, purchase lands for parks and open spaces, and create ballfields.
On October 9, 1996, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announces that American scientists Douglas Dean Osheroff (b. 1945), David N. Lee (b. 1931), and Robert C. Richardson (1937-2013) are co-winner...
On October 16, 1996, the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) is dedicated in Richland. The high-tech laboratory is the fulfillment of a dream by longtime director of th...
On November 5, 1996, Washington voters choose Democrats Bill Clinton (b. 1946) for president and Gary Locke (b. 1950) for governor. Statewide ballot measures regarding school vouchers, charter schools...
On November 20, 1996, the Seattle School Board votes unanimously to end mandatory busing for the purpose of racial desegregation in elementary schools, beginning with the 1997-1998 school year. Two ye...
On November 27, 1996, William Scott Scurlock, dubbed "Hollywood" by the police and the "Hollywood Bandit" by the press because of his penchant for theatrical disguises, attempts to rob Seafirst Bank i...
On December 5, 1996, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad resumes regular train service across Stampede Pass. Service over the 78-mile line that connects Auburn with Cle Elum and Eastern Washingt...
On December 12, 1996, at 7 p.m., the It's About Time Writers Reading Series convenes at The Seattle Public Library, University Branch, for its 89th reading. Esther Altshul Helfgott (b. 1941) founded t...
On January 5, 1997, Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney (b. 1936) is appointed to a vacated seat in the Washington State House of Representatives. A Democrat, she will represent the 46th District, which covers S...
On January 20, 1997, at the Seattle Center, Festál celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day in its inaugural event. Festál is a series of diverse community-based festivals that pr...