Now & Then

Clay Eals and Jean Sherrard dig into our rich local history, sharing images and stories from Seattle’s past.

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THEN: Clockwise from upper left, Paul George John and Ringo deboard a chartered American Airlines propeller plane at Sea-Tac to greet the press and three-dozen fans. To see film of the Beatles’ 1966 visit to Seattle, plus a column on their 1964 visit here, visit pauldorpat.com.

August 27, 2026 at 6:00 am

How the Beatles rocked Seattle on the group’s last tour

Fans of the Beatles didn't know it at the time, but a 1966 tour stop would be the group's last in Seattle. Here's what the...

NOW2: Tim Farrell stands next to a T.W. Farrell saddle at the Kittitas County Historical Museum, with Dobbin, the shop’s old papier-mâché horse, just behind him at right.

August 20, 2026 at 6:00 am

In Ellensburg in 1892, T.W. Farrell solved a regional riddle with a revolutionary design change

Now & Then takes at ride into rodeo history to find the Washington minds behind a revolutionary design change in saddles.

THEN: The Great Northern Railroad stops at the Richmond Beach depot in the 1910s. When tracks reached the area in 1891, Richmond Beach was a whistle stop, the train stopping only for a specified reason. The depot was built in 1907. (Courtesy of Shoreline Historical)

August 13, 2026 at 6:00 am

Shoreline shines in a new book

"Shoreline, Washington: From First People to a New City,” a new book, explores the city's history and the people who helped create it.

NOW: Tammy Sessions pauses at the Binford Field of Dreams in Kent, packed and ready for a next adventure on her Husqvarna 350. At 71, she’s still riding and smiling, showing no sign of slowing down.

August 6, 2026 at 6:00 am

WA motorcyclist blazed a trail, becoming ‘Queen of the Desert’ | Now & Then

Tammy Sessions of Kent broke records — and bones — on her way to becoming known as motorcycle racing's Queen of the Desert. At 71,...

A Navy blimp flies overhead during the 1954 Gold Cup race, while in the foreground two police officers preside as a camera crew documents the beached Gale IV hydroplane.

July 30, 2026 at 6:00 am

That one time a hydroplane flew off the lake and landed in a garden party

Spectators at a hydroplane race on Lake Washington got an unexpected guest when one of the boats beached next to their chairs. The driver's nickname?...

THEN 1: On July 30, 1948, this front-page image appeared above the fold in the North Central Outlook, a respected weekly newspaper serving north Seattle neighborhoods. Publisher Stan Stapp fielded dozens of phone calls from alarmed residents.

July 23, 2026 at 6:00 am

Seattle family falls for a hoax encounter of the 1948 kind

"It seemed so fantastic I didn't dream anyone would believe the story," said a weekly newspaper publisher about a 1948 UFO hoax in Seattle that...

THEN1: In 1956, Ivar Haglund’s inland eatery anchors the northwest corner of South Washington Street and Occidental Avenue South. In 1891-93, on upper floors lost in a 1949 earthquake, lived Fred Trump, paternal grandfather of today’s president, Donald Trump. The elder Trump operated The Dairy restaurant at the site of the Lucky Tavern, shown at right.

July 16, 2026 at 6:00 am

Little known WA cafes of Ivar Haglund, Donald Trump’s grandfather uncovered

Historian Michael Ostrogorsky says he has located a cafe run by President Donald Trump’s grandfather. Here’s how it, Ivar and Skid Road fit into Pioneer...

THEN 1: Brian Finney (left) and Paul Giamatti in “Some Things You Need to Know Before the World Ends: A Final Evening with the Illuminati” by Eddie Lee, Annex Theater, Belltown, circa 1990. Giamatti considers Finney “one of the greatest actors I’ve ever known.” To hear an exclusive audio reflection by Giamatti, visit pauldorpat.com tucUHiKKLtMJKKH4P1sy

July 9, 2026 at 6:00 am

Why Paul Giamatti and others are ardent fans of this Seattle theater

A little Seattle theater with big name alumni has survived for decades on grit and wildly experimental productions. Actor Paul Giamatti and others share their...

Herman K. Johns Jr., left, and Billy Frank Jr. raise a 50-star U.S. flag on Jan. 21, 1964, to symbolize treaty rights promised in 1854 for the Nisqually Tribe, at Frank’s Landing on the Nisqually River. A court order had banned the tribe’s fishing. The flag was the burial flag of Johns’ father, a paratrooper who died in Belgium during World War II. “Fish-ins” continued through the 1960s and 1970s. (Courtesy of Museum of History and Industry)

July 2, 2026 at 6:00 am

U.S. flag’s sweeping, changing roles revealed in MOHAI exhibit

As the U.S. turns 250, the Museum of History & Industry opens an ambitious flag-focused exhibit, and asks what does it mean to pledge allegiance.

THEN: Charles Rouse, assistant Seattle police chief, talks on July 25, 1963, with some of the 22 young sit-in participants at City Hall, attempting to convince them to leave and avoid arrest: “You can accomplish your purpose in a better manner. Please reconsider.”

June 25, 2026 at 6:00 am

Over and over throughout history, Seattle voices rise in protest

For a century and a half, Seattle has been a city of voices lifted in protest for better — and occasionally worse. Now & Then...

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