Seattle native Benjamin Lukoff is a freelance writer and editor. He's been interested in local history since the age of six, when his father bought him 'Pig-Tail Days in Old Seattle' at the MOHAI gift shop.

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The Pacific Science Center courtyard is on a list of endangered landscapes

King County Fair saved from budget axe, to have a 146th year after all

Marriage equality in Washington state

KKK had state headquarters in Seattle, says history project

King County historic cemetery inventory: Your help needed

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City loses $4,987,500 in the public toilet debacle—maybe they should have just reopened the pergola

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August 17, 9:25 PM

by Benjamin Lukoff, Seattle History Examiner

Old public toilets under the Pioneer Square pergola

Old public toilets beneath the Pioneer Square pergola. Courtesy
Seattle Municipal Archives, item #118233

Remember those five toilets the city bought for a million dollars apiece four years ago? They finally managed to unload them on eBay — for $12,500 for the lot. As the P-I notes, that's a discount of 99.75%.

Perhaps they should have just reopened the toilets underneath the Pioneer Square pergola. Dig (so to speak) this description from HistoryLink:

The restrooms have marble stalls, brass fixtures, oak chairs, white-tiled walls, and terrazzo floors. These are believed to be the world's most luxurious underground toilets. "The man of travels will find nowhere in the Eastern hemisphere a sub-surface public comfort station equal in character to that which has recently been completed in the downtown district of Seattle; and in the United States there are very few that will be found to equal it."

Honestly, I really would like to go down there (with a face mask, and perhaps a breathing apparatus) sometime. The Underground Tour is great, but I'd really love to see some of the buildings off the beaten path. Anyone know anyone with some basement keys?

Topics: architecture , Downtown , government , Pioneer Square

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The Pacific Science Center courtyard is on a list of endangered landscapes

1 comment

November 29, 11:08 PM

I hear from Historic Seattle that the Pacific Science Center courtyard is on this year's Landslide List of threatened modernist landscapes. Reads the Cultural Landscape Foundation's press release and Web site:While significant both regionally (as the... Read More
Topics: architecture , parks , Seattle Center

King County Fair saved from budget axe, to have a 146th year after all

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November 22, 11:40 PM

I noted last month that the King County Fair was in danger of being shut down after 145 years because of the $93,000,000 Ron Sims needed to cut from the county budget for 2009. (According to the County Council, the Fair costs taxpayers $318,000, not... Read More
Topics: government , Enumclaw

Marriage equality in Washington state

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November 20, 12:26 AM

Seattle was one of the many cities across the country which held a protest on November 15 against the passage of California's Propsition 8 and for marriage equality. Signs like the one at right and supporters' citation of Loving v. Virginia... Read More
Topics: government , racism , civil rights

KKK had state headquarters in Seattle, says history project

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November 13, 11:07 PM

An article in today's Seattle Times called my attention to what looks like the latest addition to the University of Washington's Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project Web site: The Ku Klux Klan in Washington State, 1920s. "Wait a sec,"... Read More
Topics: neighborhoods , photos , University of Washington , racism , Belltown

King County historic cemetery inventory: Your help needed

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November 7, 11:09 PM

Again speaking of Comet Lodge Cemetery, I just got the following press release in Historic Seattle's latest Advocacy Update: The King County Landmarks Commission kicked off its Historic Cemetery Preservation Initiative last spring to provide financial... Read More
Topics: cemeteries , Redmond

University District Museum Without Walls holding community meeting November 18 at Hotel Deca

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November 6, 3:53 PM

The University District Museum Without Walls, whose steering committee I am on, is holding a community meeting on November 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hotel Deca (formerly the Meany Hotel) at 45th & Brooklyn. Here's the press release — hope... Read More
Topics: neighborhoods , University District , oral history , museums

A minor Ravenna landmark, erased: The Piecora's painted wall sign is gone

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November 5, 5:11 PM

I only lived on N.E. 55th Street for five years in the 1990s, but it holds a deep connection for me: my mother had her office there for over 20 years, my parents' first house together was there, I've had piano teachers and physicians' offices there,... Read More
Topics: architecture , photos , Ravenna , landmarks

Celebrate 155 — or 156 — years of Seattle elections: Vote!

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November 3, 11:58 PM

The date of the first election to be held in Seattle is variously given as 1852 or 1853 — either way, it resulted in Arthur Denny's being sent to the territorial legislature, and we haven't looked back since. So whether it's been 155 or 156 years... Read More
Topics: government , Elections 2008

Good Comet Lodge Cemetery article in the UW Daily

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October 31, 1:42 PM

Comet Lodge Cemetery, from Historic Seattle's Preservation Seattle Speaking of Comet Lodge Cemetery (scroll to the last paragraph), The Daily of the University of Washington (to give the paper its full title) ran an excellent article yesterday... Read More
Topics: Beacon Hill , Georgetown , cemeteries