• blog home
  • King County Archives home
  • about

Bytes and Boxes

~ News from the King County Archives

Bytes and Boxes

Monthly Archives: August 2016

Aerials: a bird’s eye view

24 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by kcarchivist in Newly Accessioned, Photographs

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

aerials, kingdome, metro, transit

The Archives recently accessioned a small collection of records from the King County Department of Transportation’s Transit Division. These records include photographic prints, negatives and slides that were produced in planning for improvement or expansion of Metro bus bases.

A basic principle in archives is that records can have value beyond the original purpose for which they were created. Although we can certainly learn about the physical layout, equipment, and condition of the Metro bases in the 1980s and 1990s from this collection, the photographs also give us other information. Many photographs in the series show building interiors and exteriors, and of course, buses.  Here we will be talking about aerial photographs of the different Metro bases that were taken in 1991 and 1992.

1954_CentralBasePhotographerNedAhrens001_small

Central Base (Seattle), 6/18/1991. Photographer Ned Ahrens.  (Central Base is in the lower-right quarter of the image.)

Looking into the past

One way to use aerial photographs is to see how a place has changed over time. The Kingdome, seen in the above photograph, is a memory (to some), now replaced by CenturyLink Field. Below, photographs of Seattle’s “Hooverville,” taken during the Great Depression, show the same part of the city — from closer-in and at a lower angle — as it appeared in the 1930s. Landmarks like Smith Tower in the image on the right and the waterfront on the left help us compare the cityscapes.

275-14-370_90.2.3167 275-7-64_90.2.1794

King County Archives Series 275,  Department of Public Health, images 90.2.3167, 2/6/1933  (top or left) and  90.2.1794, 7/20/1932  (lower or right).

Oblique vs. vertical

The Metro base photos are taken at an oblique angle, which allows us to see topography, building height, and details of the urban landscape that we would not see in a straight vertical shot. Oblique photographs show space in linear perspective (more distant objects appear smaller), and lenses can introduce distortion, as below.

1954_CentralBase001_PhotographerKeithPurves_small

Central Base (Seattle), 8/17/1992. Photographer Keith Purves.

Making maps

Vertical aerial photography minimizes distortion and was first introduced for use in mapping. The King County Assessor’s WPA-funded 1936 Land Use Survey project combined data from traditional field surveying with systematic aerial photography to create a more accurate record of property throughout the County.

Making meaning

In an archival collection of agency working files, notations can add meaning to a record. The below photograph of Ryerson Base (west of Central Base) came with a plastic overlay that indicates in striped tape a path that now, over 20 years later, is a segment of the SODO Multi-Use Trail, adjacent to Sound Transit’s light rail tracks.  Related records in the collection may tell us the intent behind highlighting the right-of-way as part of facility planning in the 1990s.  Without that context, we can guess but can’t know its original purpose.

1954_RyersonBase_w_overlay_PhotographerKeithPurves003_small

Ryerson Base (facing north, view of downtown Seattle), 8/11/1992. Photographer Keith Purves.

Applications of aerial photography

Aerial photography has many applications in the natural sciences, such as geology and hydrology, as well as in social science and engineering fields, such as archaeology, transportation, and urban planning. In the below image, we see a mix of light industrial uses alongside treed areas and bodies of water near the Bellevue Base. Though the landscape is not idyllic and can hardly be seen as “green,” we are reminded that the this type of space supports functional uses upon which we depend, including Metro’s environmentally friendly bus service.

1954_BellevueBase_PhotographeUnk006small

Bellevue Base, 6/18/1991. Photographer not identified.

Reflection

Seeing the land from bird’s eye view can help us reflect on the spaces we use and inhabit. Aerials can be beautiful as photographs and compositions, with their unexpected patterns and dramatic forms, combined with familiar landscapes and the details of daily life. Following are a few more images from the series.

1954_CentralBase_PhotographerKeithPurves002_small

Central Base (Seattle), 8/11/1992.  Photographer Keith Purves.

1954_North_Base002_small

North Base (Shoreline), 3/20/1991. Photographer not identified.

1954_BellevueBase_PhotographerKeithPurves002_small

Bellevue Base, 8/17/1992. Photographer Keith Purves.

1954_RyersonBase_PhotographerKeithPurves004_small

Ryerson Base (facing South), 8/11/1992. Photographer Keith Purves.

 

More on aerial photography

To learn more about aerial photographs in the King County Archives collection and elsewhere, please see our guide, Aerial Photographs.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • More
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Skype
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Happy 50th Anniversary, Fairwood!

08 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by kcarchivist in Events

≈ Leave a comment

In the March 27, 1966 edition of The Seattle Times, the better part of page 15E covered the announcement by United Homes and Sherwood Development Co. that the two companies had joined forces to develop a $50 million planned community near Maple Valley, including a championship-level golf course, shopping center, and clubhouse over 750 acres. The area soon to be called Fairwood initially had 1800 homes and advertised the neighborhood as the ideal combination of luxurious amenities and proximity to nature and recreation. Over the years, Fairwood has grown into a diverse, independent community in unincorporated King County, built around its verdant parks, 20,000 sq. ft. Fairwood Library, and the Cedar River Trail.

Fairwood_Web_ButtonFairwood is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer. Represented by King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn, the celebration culminates in a festival on Saturday, August 27 at Petrovitsky Park, hosted by King County Parks and Councilmember Dunn, who also commissioned a display of Fairwood history from the King County Archives, to be displayed around Fairwood during the month of August.

displayUsing historical materials from the Archives alongside news articles, property records, and local keepsakes collected by Fairwood residents, Archives staff created three 7-foot panels, each detailing a different era of area history: the Cedar River valley and the people who called it home in the 19th and early 20th Centuries; the founding of Fairwood and how residents built their community; and the questions facing Fairwood citizens today.

Below are a few selections from the exhibit, or see it for yourself in Fairwood while celebrating this milestone!

riverSection3kp

timbercruiseSection3kp

peaseSection3kp

landuseSection_3Kp

 

The Archives would like to acknowledge the indispensable assistance of those who provided additional materials for this display: Fred Gurney and Laurie Finlayson at the Fairwood Library; Councilmember Reagan Dunn and his staff; the Renton History Museum; King County Parks; and the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • More
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Skype
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

“Old Records Galore”

01 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by kcarchivist in Discoveries

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Discoveries

Our colleague Luci Baker Johnson of Historic Seattle shared her discovery of a 1918 Seattle Times article describing an organizational ancestor of the King County Archives.  The story describes the “hundred tons” of records, “the approximate aggregate weight of the joys and troubles of Seattle’s inhabitants since the founding of the city….”

Many of the records, then stored in the City-County Building, exist in our collection today, while some are held at the Puget Sound Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives and at other local repositories.  It is also likely that many more of the 200 tons of records described in the article were purged over time under various 20th Century records management regimes.

The beginning of the Seattle Times article is shown below.

OldRecordsGalore_SeattleTimes_19180512

One thing that hasn’t changed since 1918 is the regard for one of our collection’s treasures, the first King County marriage certificate, issued to David Denny and Louisa Boren in 1853.  Below is a recent photograph of the certificate that was also pictured in the 1918 article.

Record of Marriage Certificates 1853-1869

King County Archives, Series 95, Volume 1/2A

 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • More
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Skype
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Enter your email to subscribe to the King County Archives blog and get notifications of new posts by email.

Visit the Archives

1215 East Fir Street
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 263-2480
9am-4pm Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri

***Closed Wednesdays***

Contact Us

Email: archives@kingcounty.gov
Twitter: @KingCoArchives
Web: kingcounty.gov/archives

Categories

  • Archives Month
  • Black History Month
  • Commemorative observances
  • Community Events
  • Disability Awareness Month
  • Discoveries
  • Drawings and plans
  • Elections
  • Events
  • Exhibits
  • From the Vault
  • International Women's Day
  • maps
  • Newly Accessioned
  • Other
  • Photographs
  • Videos and film

Social

  • View KingCoArchives’s profile on Twitter
  • View kingcountyarchives’s profile on Instagram
  • View KCArchives’s profile on Vimeo

Previous Posts

August 2016
S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Jul   Sep »

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Bytes and Boxes
    • Join 45 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Bytes and Boxes
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: