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Heartbreak City

Seattle Sports and the Unmet Promise of Urban Progress

By Shaun Scott

To cities, sports have never been just entertainment. Progressive urbanites across the United States have used athletics to address persistent problems in city life: the fights for racial justice, workers' rights, equality for women and...

Stomp and Shout

R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll

By Peter Blecha

Long before the world discovered grunge, the Pacific Northwest was already home to a singular music culture. In the late 1950s, locals had codified a distinct offshoot of rockin' R&B, and a surprising number...

Skid Road

On the Frontier of Health and Homelessness in Seattle

By Josephine Ensign

Affluent Seattle has one of the highest numbers of unhoused people in the United States. In 2021 an estimated 40,800 people experienced homelessness in Seattle and King County during the year, not counting the significant...

Homewaters

A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound

By David B. Williams

Not far from Seattle skyscrapers live 150-year-old clams, more than 250 species of fish, and underwater kelp forests as complex as any terrestrial ecosystem. For millennia, vibrant Coast Salish communities have lived beside these waters...

Sculpture on a Grand Scale

Jack Christiansen’s Thin Shell Modernism

By Tyler Sprague

The Kingdome, John (“Jack”) Christiansen’s best-known work, was the largest freestanding concrete dome in the world. Built amid public controversy, the multipurpose arena was designed to stand for a thousand years but was demolished in...

Art in Seattle’s Public Spaces

From SoDo to South Lake Union

By James Rupp and Miguel Edwards

From cedar totem poles to high-tech video installations, downtown Seattle sparkles with hundreds of artworks adorning plazas, lobbies, parks, and waterfront piers and paths. This impressive collection, comprising works by artists with regional or international...

Seattle Walks

Discovering History and Nature in the City

By David B. Williams

Seattle is often listed as one of the most walkable cities in the United States. With its beautiful scenery, miles of non-motorized trails, and year-round access, Seattle is an ideal place to explore on foot.

In...