From the Washington Street Boat Landing to Colman Dock, to the Seattle Aquarium and Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle’s waterfront contains echoes of the past, from canoes on the beach at Dzidzilalich to Mosquito Fleet steamers to a fuel depot. The activities, the structures, and the patterns of movement by people, cars, and ships all provide glimpses into how people have lived and worked along this shoreline for centuries. Often, those things that seem new actually have roots deep into the past.
Join environmental historian Jennifer Ott for an exploration of those roots and how they have shaped our waterfront into the iconic place it is today. Ott’s talk is based on her new book, Where the City Meets the Sound: The Story of Seattle’s Waterfront, which details the waterfront’s history from its storied past to its complex present. It reveals how battles over control, identity, and space have forged one of the city’s most iconic places, with a layered history that mirrors Seattle itself—rich, diverse, and constantly evolving.
MOHAI’s annual Denny Lecture presents the very best in regional historical scholarship.
ASL Interpretation and CART captioning are available during the program. In addition, a limited number of Assistive Listening Devices are available upon request. For more accessibility support, email programs@mohai.org two weeks before the program.
