by Kirby Lindsay, posted 1 April 2013
The Seattle Public Library (SPL) has begun work on preserving the history of Seattle’s neighborhoods with the ‘Neighborhood History Project,’ and they’ve decided – due to a high interest here and a depth of materials available – to start with Fremont. In an effort to preserve and provide access to historic, archived materials, SPL has been digitizing and making available these materials – for free – via the Library’s on-line special collections.
Introducing The ‘Neighborhood History Project’
Through the ‘Neighborhood History Project’ historic documents, photos and ephemera will become available to everyone – even those unable to visit the Seattle Room at the Central Library (although I do recommend a field trip there to anyone with an interest in history. It is a veritable playground!)
The history of American settlers in Fremont dates back to 1856, according to the Timeline to Fremont History on display at History House of Greater Seattle. This gives our community 150+ years of history, much of it colorful and all of it full of places, people and projects past.
As changes come to Fremont (sometimes it feels like daily) it is also good to know that SPL Special Collections has captured the ways of our past. Also, that they have made an effort to get these materials to the public, including Fremocentrist.com readers.
A Partnership To Share
For 2013, SPL and Fremocentrist.com have partnered to share information from the ‘Neighborhood History Project’ here. Fremocentrist.com has launched a new ‘History’ page to share items from the digitized collection, and to help direct traffic to the SPL Fremont site.
The materials shared by SPL, and Fremocentrist.com, will range across the collection and the history of our area. Twice a month, Fremocentrist.com History will share images of Fremont’s past from the SPL Special Collections.
For early April, SPL has provided photos on the Fremont Branch of The Seattle Public Library, from the year of its opening (1921) as well as ‘later’. Along with this, find photos of residential Fremont, the ‘Woodland Park’ street car, an overview shot of our neighborhood following a significant snowfall in 1901, and a photo that proves something existed at the northeast corner of Fremont Avenue & N 34th Street before the arrival of Costas Opa restaurant.
Not Just Fremont
In addition to Fremont, SPL has begun digitizing materials – and sharing materials already converted – for other neighborhoods. For information on these other collections, click on:
- Ballard
- Beacon Hill
- Capitol Hill
- Central Area
- First Hill
- Green Lake
- Queen Anne
- University District
- West Seattle
Also, for those truly interested in researching the history of Fremont, or any Seattle neighborhood, the SPL ‘Shelf Talk’ blog offers how-to tips written by Special Collections Librarian Bo Kinney:
Most importantly, for those who want to learn more about Fremont – and see images of our past and all the details available – visit the SPL ‘Neighborhood History Project’ website at www.spl.org/neighborhoodhistory
And check back regularly with www.fremocentrist.com/history!
Related Articles
- Open For ‘Business As Usual’
- by Kirby Lindsay, May 2005 in the North Seattle Herald-Outlook
©2013 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.