Visits with Santa, festive train rides, holiday open houses, and some glittering openings for wonderful new exhibits — please check AKCHO’s online calendar for these events and more in December.  (And remember, we are always happy to post AKCHO members’ events – send details on your organization’s doings to heritageadvisor@akcho.org.)

Speaking of Santa, he’s probably sending the elves out to browse museum gift shops for out-of-the-ordinary gifts this holiday season – from the Duwamish Longhouse to the White River Valley Museum, there are books, artworks, apparel, a wide variety of mementos — and memberships, of course! — that should appeal to just about everybody on your list.  Shop local, shop historical, and have a wonderful holiday season!

The Washington Museum Association and the Washington State Arts Alliance are once again sponsoring Arts & Heritage Day in Olympia on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Read the rest of this article »

The Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is hosting a two-day event on December 6 and 7 to help shape policies to keep and create affordable space for artists and arts organizations to work, rehearse and perform in Seattle. Although the verbiage coming out of MOACA seems to emphasize the arts, surely the owners of historic venues in Seattle will have plenty to contribute to this discussion. Read the rest of this article »

The King County Landmarks Commission designated the Lisabeula School and its associated play shed as a King County Landmark on October 27, 2011.   It was found to be significant under criterion A1 for association with the broad theme of education. Read the rest of this article »

In keeping with Seattle’s reputation for process, process, process, critics of the James Corner plan for reenvisioning Seattle’s post-viaduct waterfront are emerging. Read the rest of this article »

A recent report in The Seattle Times notes that there are now over 2000 photos and historic documents in a digitized collection that highlights the rural communities of Washington State.  Read the rest of this article »

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust celebrated with the City of Seattle on October 31 when a regional trail was opened that links the western end of the Mountains-to-Sound Trail (at the north end of Beacon Hill) and then travels through Dr. Jose Rizal Park and south along Beacon Hill to end at South Holgate Street, with access to the Seattle waterfront just south of Safeco Field.  Read the rest of this article »

The Museum of History & Industry has set November 17 of next year as the opening date for the museum in its new location on the South Lake Union campus. Read the rest of this article »

The Musicians’ Association of Seattle Local 76-493 is working with the University of Washington Labor Archives to catalog, preserve, and store the association’s historical records. Read the rest of this article »

Although the Seattle Landmarks Board in 2008 turned down a petition to accord city landmark status to the Federal Reserve Bank’s Seattle branch, the Washington State Advisory Council on Historic Preservation recently voted to add the building to the state Heritage Register. The advisory council also approved the 1950s-era structure’s nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.  Find more on this story in Crosscut.com.