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Tag: Washington state parks

Check out Washington state parks via a library visit

Check out Washington state parks via a library visit

March 2019 marks the launch of a pilot project called Check Out Washington at four Washington public libraries. With Check Out Washington, library users can check out a backpack kit that includes a Discover Pass for free access to Washington state’s recreational parks and lands for up to a week. The project’s goal is to encourage new users to go outdoors to enjoy the natural and cultural riches of Washington’s public lands. In addition to a Discover Pass, each backpack…

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Lights, Signals, Buoys, and Daymarks — Our Rich Heritage

Lights, Signals, Buoys, and Daymarks — Our Rich Heritage

From the desk of Rand Simmons The meagre lighthouse all in white, haunting the seaboard, as if it were the ghost of an edifice that had once had colour and rotundity, dripped melancholy tears after its late buffeting by the waves. ~Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit A lighthouse is … Although we often think of a tower with a bright light at the top, located on an important or dangerous waterway, lighthouses are quite varied in architecture. They had, and still have, two…

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2016 Archives Month celebrates Washington parks

2016 Archives Month celebrates Washington parks

  2016 Archives Month poster. (Image courtesy of Washington State Archives) When it comes to parks, Washington is pretty blessed. Just consider our national parks. Our oldest, Mount Rainier, includes its namesake peak that majestically stands nearly three miles above sea level and draws visitors not only from our state but around the nation and world. Then there is Olympic National Park, which is highlighted by the breathtaking view from Hurricane Ridge, the incredible rain forests on the park’s west…

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From Digital Archives: Photos of CCC workers

From Digital Archives: Photos of CCC workers

CCC workers build a guard rail for a road at Moran State Park. (Photos courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives.) If you love old, classic photos, our Digital Archives has tons of them, covering many subjects. One example is the vast collection of photos featuring the incredible work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps throughout Washington in the 1930s. These photos are from the Digitial Archives’ collection of State Parks and Recreation Commission, Photographs of Park Development, 1933-1938. Many of…

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Free Noontime Event at State Library, 4/18/2013

Free Noontime Event at State Library, 4/18/2013

Schafer State Park, a US National Historic Site, not only represents a unique example of 1930s craftsmanship from the Works Progress Administration and memorializes an early example of philanthropy by private citizens and corporations in Washington State. Olympia authors Peter Schafer Reid and Barbara Seal Ogle will discuss the park’s history and future. They will also be signing their new book on the park, with more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by. Doors open at 11:45a.m.