Fostering an awareness of and appreciation for Wallingford's history and architecture
Historic Wallingford has a team of volunteers combing through old newspapers, census records, and Polk directories to document the people and places of Wallingford. The research is revealing a wonderful tapestry of stories that are reflected in the dwellings, shops, parks, and streetscapes of today’s neighborhood.
Visit this link to read this growing collection of stories. Do you have a story to contribute? Email us at info@historicwallingford.org.
You may have recently seen some misinformation online about our neighborhood’s effort to nominate a portion of North East Wallingford to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district.
We want to clarify our position and make sure you have good information in case you have questions.
Receiving an honorary historic designation, like the National Register designation this project is seeking, comes with no restrictions on city land use policies or on a private property owner regarding development, use, maintenance, or alterations. The Washington Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation’s website explains this.
The purpose of the project is to document the history and architecture of Wallingford, and that includes any negative parts of that history, such as policies that were exclusionary and which continue to impact the community to this day. It includes uncovering stories of past Wallingfordians, including women, immigrants, and working-class residents. Too often they and their contributions have not traditionally been recognized. Ultimately, we hope this historic district designation results in a richer, more inclusive story of our neighborhood and an appreciation for its historic architecture. We particularly welcome any stories you can tell us that you know about Wallingford.
You can read more about the project here. And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@historicwallingford.org.
The COVID-19 outbreak continues to keep us from hosting in-person events and getting together. With renewed social-distancing restrictions announced yesterday, coupled with the dreary November weather, we’re once again sharing ideas for things to do at home.
We hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe during this hard time.
Check out our Wallingford history crossword puzzle (…answers here)
Local history-inspired coloring activities (Seattle Municipal Archives)
Seattle Municipal Archives Virtual Vault
King County Archives Online Exhibits
The COVID-19 outbreak has brought most things to a standstill in Wallingford and beyond. We hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe during this uncertain time.
With the stay-at-home order in place for at least another month, we’re all looking for things to do at home. Below, we’ve shared links to activities to help you pass the time at home – for both kids and adults.
Snapshot Wallingford: Historic Wallingford’s new digital photo-collecting initiative
What is it? We’re building a digital archive of old photos of Wallingford’s people and places, and we hope you’ll contribute your pictures. Through this initiative, we hope to enrich our programming opportunities and plan for a future illustrated publication on Wallingford history.
How will it work? A photo-scanning station will be set up at each Historic Wallingford event in 2019. Just bring your old photos of Wallingford people and places to an event for scan-on-demand. Be prepared to tell us a little about the photograph, such as what or who is pictured. Before scanning the photograph, we’ll kindly ask you to fill out a brief form that gives Historic Wallingford consent to use the photo in its programming and publications, accompanied by a photo credit identifying you as contributor. In return, we’ll email you a copy of the photograph scan.
Define “old photo.” Most folks think of black-and-white photos as “old,” but we’re stretching the definition to include anything before 2000.
What kinds of photos is Historic Wallingford interested in? We’re most interested in photos of Wallingford people and places. This includes a candid family picture on the front porch of a house; a streetscape photo after a big snow; the interior of a busy Wallingford business; a picture of a church gathering; a school or class photo; etc.
Questions? Drop us a line: info@historicwallingford.org.