historic interest

We have clearance, Clarence: Take off to the Museum of Flight

Sheri Quirt — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 11:48:18 -0700

Remember the first time your parents put you on a plane by yourself? It was just about the coolest thing ever, wasn't it? And yet, a few hundred thousand frequent flyer miles later, the thrill is gone and you accept the experience of air travel for what it is: red-eyes, center seats, rotgut Chardonnay, and Ben Affleck movies. It only takes one instance of being stuck on a snowed-in runway in Omaha to have all the wonder of the skies sucked out of you.

Roslyn's rich history gets new exposure

Gordy Holt — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700

ROSLYN -- This place has risen from the economic ashes so many times that you might be tempted to call it Phoenix.

Don't.

Especially as a visitor to a local saloon late on a Saturday night.

But, like the phoenix bird of Greek mythology, Roslyn has risen from its ashes repeatedly since its incorporation 120 years ago.

Columbia River Highway's water wonders make it a magnificent 20 miles

Jeff Larsen — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700

I've visited the Columbia River Gorge several times but never managed to tour what many tourists have touted over the years as the most scenic part of this geologic wonder. That would be the stretch on the Oregon side beginning at Cascade Locks (near the Bonneville Lock and Dam) and ending at Crown Point (Vista House) on the historic, narrow, winding Columbia River Highway.

Hooverville harkens back to Seattle's past

Lori Hinton — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 10:37:25 -0700

Drive by quickly and you might miss it. Walk by and you might wonder, "Has this place been here forever and I'm just NOW noticing it?"

Hooverville, located adjacent to the Premier nightclub on First Avenue South, has many pondering its "run-down elegant" origins, say owners Billy Kincaid and Todd Gean.

Shady past creates a lively atmosphere in Centralia

Jeff Larsen — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800

CENTRALIA -- It's always difficult this time of year to find something comfortable to do. The steady rain often washes out a lot of enthusiasm as well as outdoor recreation opportunities. An inventive mind is a good thing to have.

I remembered my search a little over a year ago for a warm, comfortable spot to overnight during my visit to McMinnville, Ore., in the heart of the Yam Hill County wine region southwest of Portland.

Taking an online path to early day Seattle parks

Madeline McKenzie — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Meet your local park when it was only a dream on a designer's page: Take a look in the historical archives of Seattle parks, a treasure trove for history buffs that is now available online.

Port Gamble: A town that finds its future in its past

Kristin Jackson — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700

The outing: Port Gamble looks like a little town that time and geography forgot, a bit of unspoiled 19th-century New England dropped onto the shore of Puget Sound.

Founded in the mid-1800s by Maine lumbermen who came to harvest the rich Northwest forests, Port Gamble was a company town for mill workers and their families for almost 150 years. Since the mill closed a decade ago, it's morphed into a historic and easygoing tiny tourist town on the northern edge of the Kitsap Peninsula.

Old Town Tacoma: "Hidden gem" of city traces its history, blending old and new

Carol Pucci — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700

The budget outing: Tucked between Museum Row and Point Defiance Park is the Tacoma that could have been.

Old Town, a historical section of the Commencement Bay waterfront and a four-block stretch of North 30th Street south of Ruston Way, once was destined to be a city. Today it's a quiet business district, divided by the railroad tracks that have played a role in its history since the 1800s.

Go north for a real China experience

Jeff Larsen — Thu, 19 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The smells early in the morning in Vancouverýs Chinatown were intoxicating. Different, exotic Chinese melodies emanated from practically every storefront. Merchants shuffled heaping boxes of produce out to the sidewalk. Family members sliced, trimmed and configured each piece just so for maximum display effectiveness.

Check out the history beneath your feet in Pendleton

Jeff Larsen — Thu, 12 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700

PENDLETON, Ore. -- My thinking is that underground tours must have officially started with the discovery of King Tut's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in 1922.

Howard Carter's discovery of the boy king's tomb, after all, had to be the ultimate underground tour -- at least for select workers and dignitaries at the time.

In America the allure and interest in what happened underground in various cities at the turn of the 19th century and on into the 20th century has spawned a viable tourist trade of its own -- sometimes in the most unlikely of towns.