Ballard Bridge in 1918. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives)

Throughout October, our State Archives is playing tribute to Washington’s historic bridges as documented in its collections as it celebrates Archives Month.

This year’s free Archives Month poster features a dozen photos of historic WA bridges. One is this great 1918 photo of the Ballard Bridge in Seattle, with an open drawbridge to allow passage of a ship.

You can pick up a printed copy of this year’s Archives Month poster at our State Archives headquarters in Olympia, any of the regional branches in Bellevue, Bellingham, Cheney and Ellensburg, the Secretary of State’s main office at the Capitol in Olympia, local historical societies, universities with archives/library collections, museums and heritage centers.

Need another reason to visit our State Archives or one of its regional branches? All of them are hosting open houses or historical research workshops this Saturday morning that are free to the public. Go here for more details.

The State Archives open house in Olympia runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and includes underground tours of the facility, workshops on managing your electronic records at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., “Genealogical resources at the Archives” workshops at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and an 11:30 a.m. presentation by bridge engineer Bob Krier and state Department of Transportation Historian Craig Holstine, who will discuss iconic bridges from their book “Spanning Washington: Historic Highway Bridges of the Evergreen State.”

Washington Archives Month is a way to celebrate the value of Washington’s historical records, to publicize the many ways these records enrich our lives, to recognize those who maintain our communities’ historical records, and to increase public awareness of the importance of preserving historical records.