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| The Seattle Underground Tour |
I think I'm a fairly typical resident of the Seattle area in that I don't take the time to explore many of the local tourist attractions until I have someone visiting from out of town. I hadn't been to the Seattle Underground Tour for probably around 15 years, but I recently had some house guests who had heard about it and wanted to go. I'm certainly glad that they suggested it. It had been too long ago to remember all of the interesting and funny stories the tour guides tell about the early days of Seattle. We had a great time as we were led though the labyrinth of streets and alleys one story below the current street level. Like many frontier towns, Seattle was rough and rugged and had its share of interesting characters.
The Seattle Underground Tour was started by William C. (Bill) Speidel, a local historian and writer who began the tour in the 1960s to publicize and build support for the effort to preserve the historic Pioneer Square area of the city and save it from the wrecking ball. Bill Spiedel passed away in 1988 but his tour and books about some of Seattle's early pioneers live on.
For those who are interested in the history of Seattle, here are some of Bill Speidel's books:
