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Rainier, Curtis Style

July 17th, 2008 @ 1:52 am by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposureborder
After yesterday’s somewhat contentious Paccar Tower post, I think it might be best to cool our jets with something a bit more peaceful. If you know your way around the blog here, you no doubt know the work of Asahel Curtis. While his brother Edward mostly concentrated on photographing Native Americans, Asahel took a keen interest over the years in documenting Washington’s natural landscapes and industries. An avid hiker, he even helped develop Mount Rainier National Park. His thousands of photographs today allow us to piece together the landscape and lives of early 20th century Seattle and surrounding areas. Here is one of his tinted Rainier pieces published in 1909. Enjoy. We’ll have more arguments over gnarly 1970’s architecture coming up!
 rainier_spray_01
Mt. Rainier From Spray Park. Photo by Asahel Curtis, Copyright, 1908. The Argus, 1909 A.Y.P.E. Edition. Price 50 cents. February 20, 1909. Vol. 16, No. 3. Published by H.A. Chadwick

6 Responses:

  1. joe wrote:

    You know, if you were to climb that mountain. You would be able see that dirty old PACCAR building all the way over in Bellevue.

  2. Cliffe wrote:

    Joe: Just visiting from the Downtown Bellevue Network?

  3. joe wrote:

    No i’m just being facetious :)

    Everyone knows it’s the mall that best exemplifies the decline of Seattle’s eastern civilization, not the Paccar building that the Bellites are apparently trying to turn into their whipping boy :)

  4. Tropico wrote:

    Nuke this mountain! ; )

  5. joe wrote:

    Yes, time to pop that ugly white zit on the face of Washington. Bellevue will think differently when they witness that concrete Paccar building courageously deflecting the lava flow onto their melting glass towers with people jumping out of them screaming “Why oh why did I spend so much on this over priced glass condo, when I could have had refuge in the concrete splendor and safety of the Paccar Building!!”

    Ironically, it will be Paccar’s trucks that will end up hauling all that stuff away when it goes buh-bye.

    Of course those of us in Seattle will just be ticked off that we won’t have a view of the mountain anymore.

  6. Bill W. wrote:

    Thanks for the great picture of Mt Rainier. Here’s my favorite. My Great great grandfather Major E.S. Ingraham with John Muir at the summit in 1888.

    http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm-desmo/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/warner&CISOPTR=595&CISOBOX=1&REC=1

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