2026.6.6. The Great Seattle Fire

6/6 Saturday. 10am, I joined a Seattle history field trip at 1st and Madison, guided by 2 enthusiastic amature historians. In 1889, on the very same day at the same spot, in the ink shop below, the Great Seattle Fire started. We walked to Pioneer Square as the fire progressed. Learned how the city was and how it changed. These 2 guys know a lot.

Some reference given:

• Short Youtube video: https://youtu.be/xtgIu9FOoD8?si=ny6uG5pyVNdqikI2
• New perspective https://issuu.com/kevinmax1/docs/1889_aprilmay2019/s/92388
• City of Seattle Source Documents https://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/digital-document-libraries/the-great-seattle-fire-of-1889

Continued on the same theme. Today MOHAI is hosting a fire day. A bunch of fire trucks are here, where you can check out, and climb onto the driver seat. They have really long flash lights (now you can call these torches), carry power generators.

I visited Virginia V, the historical ferry boat (June, 1922, part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet). You can pipe lake water out of a hose. A nice day on the water.