This year our annual “If These Walls Could Talk” historic home tour has gone digital! Join us online to support the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and explore the history of the oldest house still standing in Seattle –the Maynard House on Alki. Lovingly restored in 2018, you will get to experience the updated interior of the home and learn how the house has changed in its 100+ year history.
This tour will be a YouTube 360 experience, so you can explore the interior of the home while learning about the lives of Doc and Catherine Maynard. A recent donation of personal letters from the Maynards will illuminate new insights into one of Seattle’s most interesting figures. After registering, you will receive a link to the video to explore at your leisure. This will be sent to you on the morning of August 15th. The video will be about 15 minutes of recorded content about the Maynards with the ability to pause and move around the 360 space. The experience is available for a suggested donation of $10-20.
For a deeper experience, register for our live VIP session where local historians will discuss the Maynards in greater depth. You will get a chance to hear some letters read, including never-before-seen firsthand accounts of the Battle of Seattle! This VIP panel session will be held on August 15th at 11 am PST. The price for access to this exclusive conversation is $50. Our panelists include:
Ken Workman
Workman is the Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson of Chief Seattle. He is a retired Systems and Data Analyst from
Boeing’s Flight Operations Engineering Department, he is a former Duwamish Tribal Council member as well as a
former Duwamish Tribal Services 501(c)(3) President.
Ken is a member of the Duwamish Tribe, the first people of Seattle. Today Ken enjoys retired life on a river, in the mountains, east of Seattle.
Phillip H. Hoffman
Phil is a graduate of Georgia State (Atlanta) and Wayne State (Detroit) Universities holding a Masters of Urban Planning degree. He resides in Seattle’s Alki neighborhood. Mr. Hoffman is the retired director of the University of Washington Office of Institutional Studies. Upon his retirement, he established the Alki History Project. The Project’s mission is to document, explore, and interpret the history of Seattle’s founding neighborhood. Current research includes investigation of proposed and failed transportation improvements which would have forever changed Alki’s landscape and land use and an effort to identify ‘Watson’ the suspected 1893 Herring House arsonist.
Greg Lange
Greg Lange is a life-long Seattle resident. He became interested in local history while selling northwest history books at used, antiquarian and new bookstores. Greg is one of the original staff members of historylink.org. He is a former member of the Pioneer Square Preservation Board and the Washington State Board of Geographic Names. For the City of Seattle he conducted a survey of houses built prior to 1905. He has given presentations on how to do a history of a house. For a number of years Greg has researched early EuroAmerican settlement of Seattle and King County.
To register for access to the YouTube 360 experience, our version of the general admission tour in years past, please use the form below. The VIP tour registration is further down the page. The Home Tour is typically one of our major fundraisers each year. We are asking for a suggested donation of $10 to $20 to support Historical Society programming, but any amount is greatly appreciated!
The VIP live panel discussion registration is now closed. Please email museum@loghousemuseum.org for support.
