AKCHO celebrated individuals and historical organizations throughout King County at its 27th Annual Awards Presentation that was held on, coincidentally, April 27. The festive affair took place at the Museum of History & Industry, with sponsorship also from 4Culture. King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert, who once worked as a history teacher before entering politics, served as emcee. Read the rest of this article »

Unless you’ve lost all access to e-mail in the last two weeks, you’ve likely been bombarded with messages from some of your favorite historic preservation organizations about the Partners in Preservation program that arrived in the Puget Sound area on April 15 amidst great fanfare. Read the rest of this article »

In honor of Jewish Heritage Month, the Washington State Jewish Historical Society proudly presents a special exhibit at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Seattle. Titled “Our Village Seattle: Family of Strangers,” this series of storyboards highlights the lives of pioneering Jewish people who made homes for themselves in, what was at the time, the remote Pacific Northwest, and also highlights some of the many family businesses that have played a prominent role in the growth of this area. It will be on display throughout the month with a variety of programming open to the public. Read the rest of this article »

On March 29th, the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) announced the 2010 recipients of the annual State Historic Preservation Officer’s Awards, and 4Culture’s Destination Heritage has been awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Historic Preservation in the Media category. Read the rest of this article »

Heritage 4Culture strongly recommends that King County historical organizations take a critical look at StEPs (Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations), and consider using this new self-assessment tool now available from the American Association for State and Local History. Developed over five years with help from more than 130 representatives in the heritage field, StEPs is a program for small and mid-sized historical organization that encourages awareness and achievement of national standards. Read the rest of this article »

Magnolia Historical Society President Monica Wooton

 Delay, defer, deny. Words taught to me by a savvy political neighbor who dealt with hot neighborhood issues by employing these tactics often to gain time to gather support for his point of view, decide on a course of action and amass a constituency to carry out that plan. Read the rest of this article »

Members of AKCHO recently received a letter from AKCHO President Joe Follansbee regarding a proposed ordinance that would create a fund in King County for historical preservation and programs — to the tune of half a million dollars annually. If you didn’t have a chance to read it then, the letter has been posted on the home page of our AKCHO web site.

Tens of thousands of nonprofit organizations may be just weeks away from losing their tax exemptions, according to a recent story in the New York Times. Read the rest of this article »

Have you checked the AKCHO calendar recently? If so, you’ve surely circled May 1 as the day to head up to Snoqualmie to celebrate the completion of the Snoqualmie Depot’s restroom renovation at a party cheerfully called The Royal Flush. Read the rest of this article »

The contributions that Swedish-Americans have made to Washington State’s history and culture will be spotlighted during “Sweden Week,” May 2-9. Events will include a series of free public lectures, presented by the University of Washington’s Scandinavian Department in celebration of its 100-year anniversary. Swedish Hospital is celebrating a century of providing health care to Seattleites. Throughout the week there will be Swedish pancakes, Swedish films, and Swedish fashion. For more information, visit www.swedenweek.org.