Seattle’s history is being preserved not only through the restoration efforts of the Alki Homestead but through a grant funded by 4Culture to develop a historic walking tour. This walking tour is to begin and end at the Alki Homestead and will focus on some of the most historic sites. The restoration efforts of the Alki Homestead are monumental to the preservation of Seattle’s history and this walking tour will not only display our local significance in this story but the importance of continued preservation of historical landmarks.
I would like to introduce myself as the Project Manager of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society’s Log House Museum walking tour of Alki. I have past experience creating and presenting walking tours with the Port Angeles Heritage Tours. I also have a Master’s Degree in History from Eastern Illinois University. Researching, writing, and preserving history for education and entertainment purposes are my passion. I am so excited that Lissa Kramer and everyone at Southwest Seattle Historical Society’s Log House Museum gave me the opportunity to spotlight this history and these historic sites.
This walking tour goes along with a grant funded by 4Culture to preserve the Alki Homestead. As preservation is underway, we wish to début the tour this summer. The walking tour will be self-guided with mobile capabilities that give information and photographs to supplement the story of Alki’s history. I have been researching the stories of the Duwamish, the Denny Party, and into the 20th and 21st centuries. I currently have a layout and some sites in mind including, of course, the Alki Homestead as the bookends of the tour, the Alki Statue of Liberty, the Founders Monument, the Denny Home Site, Doc Maynard’s Home, and the Log House Museum. The story of this area is so rich and encompassing that I realize the hardest part is going to be editing. I think there may even be opportunities for tours pertaining specifically to certain topics in the future with the same self-guided techniques used here.
I would like to know from the residents and history-lovers of Seattle’s Alki what historical significance do you think should be included in the tour? Are there stories in our history or sites in the region that must not be overlooked? I have long had a love affair with West Seattle and most especially with Alki. As I learn more about its history and the people, both in the past and presently, I want to make certain that I am putting forth a walking tour not only for those visiting but one of which our residents can be proud. I want to encapsulate all those things that make Alki a gem in Seattle’s history.
