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Was Seattle a bad place to build a city?

caption: Ballard Bridge south approach under construction, 1939
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Ballard Bridge south approach under construction, 1939
Flickr Photo/Seattle Municipal Archives (CC BY 2.0)/https://flic.kr/p/wpQDgY

How much do you know about the history of the place you live? If that place is Seattle, points of interest include how the natives of this area lived, why the so-called pioneers chose to settle here, and why this town won out over others as Puget Sound’s central city. In this talk, professor Linda Nash delves into the historic depths of how chance and natural resources fueled this booming metropolis of trade and expansion.

Nash teaches in the history department at the University of Washington, where she directs the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. She spoke at UW’s Kane Hall on January 27 as part of the history lecture series “Excavating Seattle’s histories: Peoples, politics, and place.” Anna Tatistcheff recorded her talk.

Web Exclusive: Listen to the full talk below

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