Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection
Watch oral histories with prominent figures in the Pacific Northwest including artists Jacob Lawrence and Kenneth Callahan; Governors Albert Rosellini and Dixy Lee Ray and Reverends David Colwell and Samuel McKinney.
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White Pass and Yukon Railroad at White Pass, ca. 1899
During the Klondike Gold Rush, the White Pass was one of the routes used by prospectors to travel from Skagway to the Yukon gold fields. In April 1898 the White Pass and Yukon Railroad Company was formed in an effort to establish an easier way through the pass. Construction on the railroad began the following month. Thousands of workers worked around the clock in treacherous conditions to complete the project. The railroad track was completed at White Pass on February 20, 1899 and reached Lake Bennett on July 6, 1899. The final spike on the railroad was placed on July 29, 1900 in Carcross, B.C.
Identifier: spl_ap_00040
Date: 1899?
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Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Wash - Plate 18
Baist Real Estate atlases of Seattle were published in 1905, 1908, and 1912. The atlases show property ownership (for large tracts), plats, block and lot numbers, streets, buildings, sewers, water mains, electric railways, and steam railroads.
Identifier: spl_maps_341191.18
Date: 1905
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Webb Moffett Interview, February 9, 1986
Webb Moffett (1909-2008) was born in New York City in 1909. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and graduated with a degree in engineering. He moved to Seattle in the 1930s where he worked as Assistant Director for the Army Corps of Engineers at the Ballard Locks. Moffett was heavily involved in developing Western Washington’s ski industry and helped to install the first tow ropes at Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker and Snoqualmie Pass. With his company Ski Lifts, Inc. he made additional improvements to Snoqualmie Pass introducing ski patrols, chair lifts, electric lighting to allow night skiing and snow grooming equipment. Moffett was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1999.
Identifier: spl_ds_wmoffett_01
Date: 1986-02-09
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View SE from 2nd Ave. and Bell St., ca. 1906
Photograph appears to be taken after the completion of regrade work on 2nd Avenue. The Moore Theatre and the New Washington Hotel are visible on the right side of the photo in the distance.
Identifier: spl_dr_038
Date: 1906
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Arthur Erickson Interview, July 28, 1986
Arthur Erickson (1924-2009) was a noted Canadian architect, responsible for the designs of projects such as the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. and Simon Fraser University. Erickson received the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1986 in recognition for his body of work.
Identifier: spl_ds_aerickson_01
Date: 1986-07-28
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Pietro Belluschi Interview, November 24, 1986
Pietro Belluschi (1889-1994) was an architect based for many years out of Portland, Oregon. Belluschi was born in Ancona, Italy and came to the United States in 1923 as an exchange student at Cornell University. Belluschi was known for his modern approach to architecture and the design of buildings such as the Equitable Building in Portland and the Pan Am Building in New York City. Over the course of his career, Belluschi designed over 1,000 buildings. He also served as the dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning from 1951 until 1965. The American Institute of Architects awarded him their Gold Medal in 1972.
Identifier: spl_ds_pbelluschi_02
Date: 1986-11-24
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View east from near 1st Ave. and Pine St. to regrade activity, ca. 1906
The Washington Hotel appears at the top of the hill. Although the regrade started in 1903, James Moore, the owner of the Washington Hotel, refused to clear the property until 1906 when regrading of Second and Third Avenues were well underway.
Identifier: spl_dr_027
Date: 1906
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Henry Kotkins Interview, July 16, 1987
Henry Kotkins was a native Seattlite, a Port of Seattle Commissioner and the founder of Skyway Luggage. Kotkins attended Garfield High School and the University of Washington. Kotkin’s father started the Seattle Suitcase, Trunk and Bag Manufacturing Company in 1910. Kotkins took over the business after his father’s death in 1936, when the Great Depression was threatening to shut it down. He turned the business around and changed the name to the Skyway Luggage Company, introducing innovations like wheeled suitcases in a variety of colors beyond black and brown. Kotkins served on the 1962 World’s Fair Committee and was a Port of Seattle Commissioner during the 1970s and 1980s. Kotkins was also a member of the Rotary Club of Seattle, the Corinthian and the Seattle Yacht Club.
Identifier: spl_ds_hkotkins_01
Date: 1987-07-16
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[Cloth print]
Fay Chong was born in Canton, China in 1912. He worked primarily in printmaking and in watercolor. He and his family moved to Seattle in 1920. He attended Edison High School where he was a classmate of George Tsutakawa. Chong worked on the Public Works of Art Project in the 1930's with Robert Bruce Inverarity, Jacob Elshin and Julius Twohy. Chong taught art at Cornish College for the Arts, Seattle Community College, Washington Senior High School and Ingraham High School. He received a Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in 1968 and an MAT from the University of Washington in 1971. He died suddenly of a stroke in 1973.
Identifier: spl_art_C455Cl
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