Put Your WISAARD Learning Cap On

Have you heard about WISAARD? It's a really cool toy research tool from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) that helps you locate historic sites statewide, searchable by county, city, and registered site name or status. It might not be stylized or streamlined, but WISAARD is just plain neat--and useful, if you're looking for details but don't know precisely which details you're looking for yet. Amateur local history nerds, read on:

For each site on the zoomable map, the DAHP has a page full of information and classifications. For instance, when we searched for the Pioneer Building and the Pergola on Yesler and 1st, we found a fairly cogent five paragraph narrative on the story of the buildings, four photos of the properties, and and a quick overview of architectural details and listing codes. Did you know the Pioneer Building housed a fancy-schmancy speakeasy during Prohibition?

Not all of the sites have historical essays, but the site's image banks are worth spelunking in some afternoon. Check out WISAARD's photos of the Black Diamond Coal Mine, or Bellevue's The Mooring (a gorgeous old Craftsman home). Here's Volunteer Park, with two gorgeous old shots of the Water Tower.

Enjoy! We certainly will, while we sit chained to a desk and procrastinate on pressing deadlines. (It's the American Way.) And maybe on the weekend, we'll adventure out to experience some of these sites in person!

"Puddle Reflection" by Seattlest Flickr Pool Contributor Single Malt. What a creative shot!