The clichéd image of Seattle is of a gray and gloomy place where it rains constantly. But the Emerald City (as those who live there prefer it to be known) bursts forth with abundant greenery, a reasonable number of sunny days and less annual precipitation than New York, Atlanta or Houston.
What’s also surprising is the cultural flavor that colors the Puget Sound area, derived from its unique blend of Native American, Asian, Scandinavian and African-American populations.
It was Chief Seattle of the Suquamish tribe who gave the town its name in 1855. His final resting place is marked on the Fort Madison Indian Reservation near Bainbridge Island, just a short ferry ride from the city’s famous Pike Place Market.
Tribes of the Pacific Northwest, like the Suquamish, Duwamish and Puyallup, were not teepee dwellers, as were some Plains tribes. Their longhouses were built with massive cedar logs that were typically home to large extended families.
Longhouses also served as workshops where fishing nets and baskets were made and repaired. Catching salmon was central to the tribe’s way of life, and the cedar canoes the fishermen used are still a wonder to behold.
Asian immigrants began settling the area south of downtown Seattle in the 1860s. The newcomers were mostly Chinese at first. Later came Japanese immigrants.
Sadly, many of these were sent away to internment camps during World War II. Filipinos, Koreans, Vietnamese and other Southeast Asians began arriving in the 1950s and the Asian community has continued to grow since. The part of the city with the greatest concentration of Asian residents is known as the International District, rather than Chinatown, because there are so many diverse Asian nationalities represented.
Along with retail shops, dim sum palaces and dozens of restaurants where you can sample pan-Asian cuisines, the district features history, art and culture in its Wing Luke Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian.
This same part of town is also where African-Americans, drawn by wartime industry and military service, first began to make their presence known. Jazz flourished here, though few landmarks from that era survived construction of the downtown freeway loop. Over time, much of what is now the second largest black community on the West Coast has dispersed throughout the metro.
And those Scandinavians? Those Norwegians, Swedes and Finns? Turns out that Northern Europeans were often the backbone of Seattle’s early industry. They built ships and were the loggers and millworkers who drove the city’s pre-Boeing economy. For evidence of the impact of the Scandinavian population, you need look no farther than the name of Seattle’s most prominent hospital: Swedish. And a man named Nordstrom also started a little department store here, too. You may have heard of it. Then there’s Starbucks. Scandinavians and strong coffee have a long history together!|
Learn more about the heritage of the Seattle and Puget Sound region at visit Seattle.