Seattle Regrade Photograph Collection
Preview up to 100 items from this collection below. Seattle’s massive effort to regrade and flatten much of the city’s hilly landscape is documented in this 1905-1908 photo album. Explore our map to see the modern-day photo locations.
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Greg Falls Interview, 1987
Gregory Falls (1922-1997) was heavily involved in the Seattle theater scene, serving as chair of the University of Washington School of Drama and founding artistic director of A Contemporary Theatre (ACT). Originally from Russellville Arkansas, Falls came to Seattle in 1961 to become head of the University’s Drama School. He created ACT Theatre in 1965 provide a space for unique and progressive theater. Falls acted as the director of the theater until his 1987 retirement. Falls also served as the president of the Washington Association of Theater Artists and National Theater Conference. In 1994, Falls was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, an organization of distinguished professionals in the education and theater communities.
Identifier: spl_ds_gfalls_01
Date: 1987-07-09; 1987-11-04
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Albert and Audrey Kerry Interview, March 16, 1988
Albert Sperry Kerry Jr. (1903-1999) and Audrey Legg Kerry (1907-2005) were from pioneering Seattle families and were active participants in the city’s civic and arts organizations. Albert’s father, Albert Sperry Kerry Sr. arrived in Seattle in 1886, working to grow the city’s lumber industry and acting as a prominent civic leader. He served as the vice-president of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909, president of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and helped raise funds to construct the Olympic Hotel in 1924. Kerry Sr. donated the land that is now Kerry Park to the City of Seattle in 1927. Audrey’s parents, Louis and Helen Legg, were also early Seattle pioneers who moved to Seattle in 1876. Albert Kerry Jr. attended the University of Washington and served on the Seattle Art Museum’s Board of Directors for decades. Audrey Kerry attended Lincoln High School and the University of Washington and served on several clubs and committees including the Sunset Club, the Music and Art Foundation,the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Washington, and the Committee of 33. Albert and Audrey married in 1928. They were awarded the Corporate Council for the Arts Award in 1997 for their support of the arts.
Identifier: spl_ds_akerry
Date: 1988-03-16
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Anne Gerber Interview, November 8, 1987
Anne Gerber (1910-2005) was a local art collector known for her patronage of unique artists. Gerber attended Garfield High School, Roosevelt High School and Edison Technical School. She studied painting and sculpture at the University of Washington and began collecting artwork after marrying her husband, Sidney Gerber (-1965). Together, the two acquired artwork by artists such as Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Mark Tobey and Guy Anderson. They also built a large collection of Native American artwork which now resides at the Burke Museum. In 1965, Sidney was flying a plane carrying Seattle City Councilmember Wing Luke and his secretary Kay LaDue over the Cascade Mountains. They ran into bad weather conditions and the plane crashed, killing all those aboard. After his death, Anne continued her work the arts community. She was a member of the Contemporary Art Council of the Seattle Art Museum and of the Seattle Art Commission. In 1984 she received the Governor’s Art award. Anne was also active in civic causes, fighting against housing segregation in Seattle, working with the American Civil Liberties Union and serving as president of the Neighborhood House which provides assistance for low-income families.
Identifier: spl_ds_agerber_01
Date: 1987-11-09
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John Leffler Interview, January 28, 1986
John C. Leffler (1900-1987) was the dean of St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle from 1951 to 1971 and played a vital role in its transformation into a thriving institution. Leffler was born in Northridge, New York and attended Wesleyan University and the Divinity School of the Paciifc in Berkeley. In 1929 he was officially ordained as a priest and was posted in California. When World War II struck and Japanese Americans were interned, Leffler was a vocal opponent to the policy. When Leffler arrived in Seattle in 1951, St. Mark’s was in a state of disrepair after foreclosing and being used as an anti-aircraft training location in World War II. Leffler helped reestablish the church, overseeing the development of a robust musical program and growing the congregation significantly. During his time as pastor, Leffler supported a wide range of social causes including civil and women’s rights and advocated against a number of issues including McCarthyism and the Vietnam War.
Identifier: spl_ds_jleffler_01
Date: 1986-01-28
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Japanese Tea Garden, Arboretum, June 11, 1967
Pond at the Seattle Japanese Garden (opened in 1960) located in the Washington Park Arboretum
Identifier: spl_dor_00042
Date: 1967-06-11
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Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Wash - Plate 13
Baist Real Estate atlases of Seattle were published in 1905, 1908, and 1912. The atlases show property ownership (for large tracts), plats, block and lot numbers, streets, buildings, sewers, water mains, electric railways, and steam railroads.
Identifier: spl_maps_341191.13
Date: 1905
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Samuel McKinney Interview, August 17, 1987
Reverend Samuel McKinney (1926-2018) was pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church for 40 years and a major leader in Seattle’s civil rights movement. McKinney was born in Flint, Michigan and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He served in the Air Force during World War II and in 1949 graduated from Morehouse College where one of his classmates was Martin Luther King Jr. In 1952 he graduated from Colgate Rochester Divinity School and in 1953 married his wife Louise. Together the couple moved to Seattle in 1958 where McKinney became the pastor of Mt. Zion. McKinney was a tireless advocate for social and civil rights causes. He was one of the founders of the Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, an organization providing job training; helped start Seattle’s first black-owned bank to help community members obtain home loans after discirimation from other banks; advocated for Seattle’s fair housing act as a member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission and participated in civil rights marches and demonstrations nationwide.
Identifier: spl_ds_smckinney_01
Date: 1987-08-17
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Charles Odegaard Interview, 1984
Dr. Charles Odegaard (1911-1999) served as the president of the University of Washington from 1958 to 1973. Odegaard was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He attended Dartmouth College as an undergraduate and Harvard as a graduate student. After obtaining his PhD from Harvard, Odegaard worked as a history professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Odegaard served in the Navy during World War II. from scholar, educator and University president about his life and work. In 1953 he became dean of the University of Michigan’s College of Arts and Sciences. During his time as president at the University of Washington, the school saw unprecedented growth, going from 16,000 to 34,000 students and adding 35 new buildings to the campus.
Identifier: spl_ds_codegaard_01
Date: 1984
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Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Wash - Plate 15
Baist Real Estate atlases of Seattle were published in 1905, 1908, and 1912. The atlases show property ownership (for large tracts), plats, block and lot numbers, streets, buildings, sewers, water mains, electric railways, and steam railroads.
Identifier: spl_maps_341191.15
Date: 1905
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Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Wash - Plate 21
Baist Real Estate atlases of Seattle were published in 1905, 1908, and 1912. The atlases show property ownership (for large tracts), plats, block and lot numbers, streets, buildings, sewers, water mains, electric railways, and steam railroads. <br></br>The future site of the Ballard Locks appears at the top of the Salmon Bay Waterway.
Identifier: spl_maps_341191.21
Date: 1905
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