Title: Seattle Walk Report: An Illustrated Walking Tour Through 23 Seattle Neighborhoods

Author: Susanna Ryan

Completed: May 2023 (Full list of books)

Overview: This book is a love letter to all the unnoticed parts of Seattle (and to a large degree, cities in general). It encourages you to slow down and see all everything around you. There are interesting happenings everywhere and this book, along with Unseen City, help me notice all the little curiosities in my neighborhood.

This is a very quick read. I got through it in a day when I needed a break from In Search of Deeper Learning. If you live in Seattle, it’s fun to see what Susanna noticed while walking around your neighborhood and no matter where you live, this illustrated book encourages you to wander around noticing everything you typically ignore while walking past.

Highlights:

• Yesler Way Trolley ran from Pioneer Square to Leschi from 1887 until 1940 and was Seattle’s most popular route on warm summer days when people would picnic at Lake Washington
• UW 1936 Graduate W. Ronald Benson invented yellow highway paint
• Panama Hotel and Tea House became Seattle’s on “National Treasure” in 2015 for its significance to the Japanese American community. Many personal items that were left behind during the Japanese-American internment of WW2 are currently on display.
• Seattle Public Library’s Central Branch is made of 9,994 pieces of exterior glass
• Over 10 million people visit Pike Place Market each year, more than the population of Sweden
• Over a million bikers pedaled across the Fremont Bridge in 2018 and near 1.2 million in 2019
• B. F. Day School opened in 1892 and is the oldest continually operating school in Seattle
• Luther Burbank introduced the Himalayan Giant Blackberry to the US in 1885 making them newer to Seattle than the light bulb, bicycle, or Jelly Bean.
• Luther Burbank created many plants including Elephant Garlic, the Plumcot, and Russet Burbank Potatoes
• The top of a fire hydrant is called the bonnet
• Picardo Farm P-Patch in Wedgwood was the first P-Patch. In fact, the “P” in P-Patch is for Picardo
• Brown street signs indicate a Parks Department road, honorary street name, or an Olmsted boulevard. Lake Washington Blvd is the latter, designated after the Olmsted Brothers firm that recommended so many of Seattle’s parks
• In 1899 a totem pole was stolen from a Tlingit Village to be displayed in Pioneer Square. It was burned in 1938 and replaced with a replica in 1940 that stand to this day
• Seattle has 21 Sister Cities. Kobe, Japan became the first in 1957
• Kubota Garden was created in 1927 by gardener Fujitaro Kubota (1879-1973) who had no formal training. It’s been a public park since 1987
• The Hat and Boots in Oxbow Park were for a western-themed gas station from 1954 and moved to the park in 2003
• Ward House is the oldest building in Seattle, built in 1882