Rainy Day History

The now gone but fondly remembered Kingdome stadium came into being in the 1970s as a result of a package of ballot initiatives called Forward Thrust. Although the proposal to build a new stadium did well at the polls, finding a place to put it proved more than difficult. When its location near King Street was decided, community activists in the Chinatown International District pushed back, sparking a larger neighborhood preservation movement whose work and legacy still continues today.

Hear from special guest Gary Iwamoto about this era of activism and the founding of InterIm CDA, an affordable housing and community development organization.

Show notes and transcripts available on our website.

Explore the life, times, and creations of architect Minoru Yamasaki, designer of many iconic buildings including the Pacific Science Center arches, downtown Seattle's Rainier Tower, and the original World Trade Center. Although Yamasaki's buildings are spread across the globe, his life and career are deeply connected to Seattle's history.

Hear from special guest Dr. Paul Kidder, professor of philosophy at Seattle University who is currently writing a book about Yamasaki, about what he finds fascinating about Yamasaki's designs.

Show notes and transcript available on our website.

Seattle transit plans have always had a hard time at the polls, going all the way back to 1911, when voters overwhelmingly rejected Virgil Bogue's vision for a Seattle with public transit at its core. The Bogue Plan was the city's first comprehensive plan and included big and bold ideas: 90 miles of rail transit, a brand-new civic center and grand central station, converting all of Mercer Island into a public park, and more! How did the plan's spectacular failure at the polls shape the way we navigate and inhabit our city today?

Hear from special guest Eric Scigliano, writer and journalist, about what he's learned from researching the Bogue Plan and other "Seattles that might have been".

Show notes and transcripts available on our website.

Besides the famous Century 21 World's Fair that gave Seattle the Space Needle and many of the buildings at Seattle Center, Seattle played host to another World's Fair, the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition! The AYPE put Seattle on the map by marketing it as a resource-rich global city, showcased the latest technology, and laid the groundwork for the University of Washington's beautiful Seattle campus.

Hear from special guest Anne Jenner, Pacific Northwest Curator at the UW Libraries Special Collections Division about some of the amazing historic items from the AYPE in their collection and some of the more unbelievable aspects of the fair.

Show notes and transcript available on our website.

Seattle's Chinatown/International District has been through a lot over the decades. Learn how Seattle's earliest Chinese American pioneers built and maintained community in the face of racism, riots, and constant change. In this episode, we explore the resiliency of this neighborhood during its original settlement, re-settlement, and growth in the mid-late 1800s.

Our special guest is Doan Nguyen, Senior Tour Manager at the Wing Luke Museum, who shares about the history of the museum's building and the stories it has to tell about life in the CID during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Seattle's Chinatown/International District has been through a lot over the decades. Learn how Seattle's earliest Chinese American pioneers built and maintained community in the face of racism, riots, and constant change. In this episode, we explore the resiliency of this neighborhood during its original settlement, re-settlement, and growth in the mid-late 1800s.

Our special guest is Doan Nguyen, Senior Tour Manager at the Wing Luke Museum, who shares about the history of the museum's building and the stories it has to tell about life in the CID during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Show notes and transcript available on our website.

Rainy Day History is back for another season! The 2020 MYA team has been hard at work putting together brand-new episodes for you to enjoy this summer. Exploring the theme of "growth", these eight episodes will be tackling inclusion and exclusion through projects, people, and events that helped expand Seattle and put it on the map. Featuring new voices, new segments, and special guests! In this trailer, hear from host TK about what to expect in season two, interview clips from our first three episodes, and a get a sneak peek at the first episode with a trivia question from India! New episodes to be released every Thursday beginning July 23rd.

Special guest voices (in order of appearance)

• Doan Nguyen, Wing Luke Museum
• Anne Jenner, UW Special Collections
• Paul Kidder, Seattle University

Show notes and transcript available on our website.

Trade, turtles, and giant protests, oh my! In this final episode, host Atul and guest-host Leela take you on a wild ride throughout Seattle's history of labor movements, culminating in the tensions and tribulations of the 1999 World Trade Organization Protests. Featuring fabulous protest art in the form of cardboard turtle costumes.

Show notes and transcript are available on our website.

For some, Seattle has long been considered a haven for the LGBTQ community. This episode examines the complexities of making space for marginalized communities in Seattle through the lens of the LGBTQ community's shared gathering spaces and their movement throughout Seattle's history. We discuss Shelly's Leg, a gay bar in Seattle, how it was a trailblazer in the fight to create accepting and inclusive spaces, and why in the world it's called "Shelly's Leg" (hint: there's an actual leg involved).

Show notes and transcript available on our website.

Gentrification is a hot topic in Seattle right now, as areas like the Central District are rapidly changing. Since this is a history podcast, let's take a look at what stories are at risk of being pushed out as well, and examine what and who has historically called this neighborhood home. Through the story of jazz icon and Seattle legend Ernestine Anderson, we dive into the fight for equality, space, and African-American art in Seattle's history.

Show notes and transcript are available on our website.

Jumping forward a little bit in history (there's only so much time!), this episode explores the local impacts of Japanese incarceration during World War II. Some objects, like a set of Hinamatsuri dolls, were left behind. Others, like a wooden chest belonging to Kino Iwasaki, were used to re-build life post-incarceration. This is a story of struggle, resistance, and what is often left out of the Seattle narrative.

Show notes and episode transcript are available on our website.