Discover Fascinating History Stories with Feliks Banel

Pacific Northwest History

ryan house demolish rush...
Feliks Banel

Frustration in Sumner over city’s rush to demolish historic Ryan House

The City of Sumner held a public open house Tuesday night, one of the hottest topics was the Ryan House which the City Council last week voted to demolish.
3 years ago
The Ryan House in Sumner was built in the 1870s and 1880s before Washington became a state, and is ...
Feliks Banel

Is tonight the last chance to save Sumner’s historic Ryan House?

The City of Sumner has been working for the past few years to renovate the historic Ryan House. Last week, those restoration plans abruptly changed.
3 years ago
Image: The Jantzen Beach carousel was installed in June 1928 at the amusement park that once stood ...
Feliks Banel

Beloved, and huge, Jantzen Beach Carousel gets a new home

A beloved Portland area landmark – a vintage carousel from the 1920s – is hitting the trail for points east.
3 years ago
Seattle Seahawks run onto the field during team introductions before an NFL football game against t...
Feliks Banel

Memories of the magical 2013 Seahawks season refuse to fade

Sometimes, we can't help but look back at Seahawks history. It was a decade ago when the magical 2013 season unfolded and culminated in a Super Bowl title.
3 years ago
ship canal bridge parking...
Feliks Banel

When the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge almost became a “$13 million parking lot”

Commuters know it, they love it, they can’t live without it. Yes, it’s the Interstate 5 Ship Canal Bridge in Seattle
3 years ago
aviation heritage...
Feliks Banel

Time to create a ‘National Aviation Heritage Area’ in the Pacific Northwest?

The countdown is on to mark the centennial in 2024 of the Around-The-World Flight that began and ended at what’s now Magnuson Park on Lake Washington.
3 years ago
royal brougham way...
Feliks Banel

‘He did everything in Seattle sports’: The career of ‘S. Royal Brougham Way’ namesake

"He's one of the most important figures in Seattle sports history," Daivd Eskenazi said about Royal Brougham.
3 years ago
mutual Fish closing...
Feliks Banel

Mutual Fish closing: Customers were hooked for more than 75 years

Unfortunately, the sign on the door at Mutual Fish Company at 2335 Rainier Avenue South in Seattle doesn’t say “GONE FISHIN,’” it says, “STORE CLOSING.”
3 years ago
UW football songs...
Feliks Banel

‘Charlie Browning is still first-downing’ and other Husky novelty songs

As UW Husky football kicks off its final Pac-12 season it’s a perfect excuse to look and listen back to some old local novelty songs.
3 years ago
local black history...
Feliks Banel

Local Black history is booming in the Evergreen State

Black history, like the history of any ethnic group, has its own parameters and specific focus areas, but at its core, it’s really just local history
3 years ago
wrenches tool...
Feliks Banel

Tool duel: Big wrenches come out of the woodwork

"The big wrench piece was lovely,” Michael Krasik, a 75-year-old inventor, wrote in an email. “But I once made a couple of really big wrenches"
3 years ago
red wrench aurora...
Feliks Banel

Getting a grip on the history of Aurora’s big red wrench

Driving south on Highway 99 just north of the Aurora Bridge, many motorists can’t help but notice a giant, red wrench on top of a motorcycle repair shop.
3 years ago
greg gilbert photographer retires...
MyNorthwest Video

Video: Seattle Times photographer Greg Gilbert retires after 56 years

Greg Gilbert has taken some iconic photographs over the span of his 56-year-long career with the Seattle Times.
3 years ago
Lake Washington...
Feliks Banel

Reviving Lake Washington’s phantom shoreline

Mikala Woodward plans to recreate, in a four-inch strip of light-blue chalk, a portion of Lake Washington’s old shoreline.
3 years ago
memorial stadium landmark...
Feliks Banel

‘Defense attorney seeking defendant’s execution’: Memorial Stadium landmark process bizarre, twisted

In an 8-to-1 vote Wednesday, the City of Seattle Landmark Preservation Board started the process or protecting Seattle High School Memorial Stadium.
3 years ago
Image: Memorial Stadium was built in 1947 in honor of Seattle Public Schools alums who died in Worl...
Feliks Banel

City advice to landmarks board for Memorial Stadium is a real head-scratcher

The Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board will meet on Wednesday afternoon to decide whether or not Seattle High School Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center should be designated as a city landmark.
3 years ago
Will rogers, Renton memorial...
Feliks Banel

Will Rogers’ deadly journey began in Renton

The ghosts of two aviators haunt Seattle. But you have to know where to look, and the best place to start is the north end of Renton Municipal Airport.
3 years ago
Watermelons grown in and around Hermiston, Oregon have been jointly marketed for decades; this ad d...
Feliks Banel

In search of sweet, ripe watermelons and Hermiston, Ore.

You might have seen those stickers on melons that say, “Grown in Hermiston, Oregon.” And then, you might have wondered, ‘Where is Hermiston, exactly?’
3 years ago
old tile street markers...
Feliks Banel

Mystery and tragedy of Seattle’s old tile street markers

KIRO Newsradio’s story last week about hidden relics from an old cable car line inspired a listener to reach out in search of the origins of a distinctive set of markers along that same thoroughfare: Madison Street, the main connector between Elliott Bay and Lake Washington since the 19th century.
3 years ago
Pat O’Day...
Feliks Banel

Remembering legendary Northwest DJ, pop culture renaissance man Pat O’Day

Pat O’Day passed away Tuesday at his San Juan Island home. O’Day is best known for his work as radio deejay on station KJR in Seattle in the 1960s.
3 years ago
hidden cable car...
Feliks Banel

Hidden cable car relics revealed on Madison Street

Cable cars are a different animal compared with the street cars which returned to Seattle this century.
3 years ago
drama kitsap forest...
Feliks Banel

Despite off-stage drama, Kitsap Forest Theater celebrates 100 years

On the highway between Bremerton and Seabeck, the Kitsap Forest Theater is this summer celebrating 100 years of outdoor plays and musicals.
3 years ago
harding speech...
Feliks Banel

President Harding gave final speech in Seattle and then died 100 years ago

It was 100 years ago this week when President Warren G. Harding gave a major speech at Husky Stadium, as it turned out, it was his last public address
3 years ago
paine field...
Feliks Banel

All Over The Map: Who was the ‘Paine’ of Paine Field?

Paine Field added "Seattle" to its name this week – becoming Seattle Paine Field International Airport. But what does the 'Paine' stand for?
3 years ago