Browse Items (294 total)

Ellensburg History


December 1889. 		After the July 4th 1889 fire, the city of Ellensburg planned to build a large, impressive City Hall. This city hall illustrated in the West Shore magazine was never built. Ellensburg, recovering from the fire that destroyed most of the downtown…

ca. 1943. 		Looking south down Pearl Street across the intersection of Fourth and Pearl Streets many mid 1940s Ellensburg businesses can be seen. On the left in the Davidson Building was located the Elton Hotel, formerly the Albany and Savoy Hotels, managed by…

ca. 1925. 		A group of men gathered in front of the Evening Record office and building awaiting the latest news in this ca. 1925 photograph. By 1913, the Evening Record, formerly the Ellensburg Localizer, was located in its new building on the northwest corner…

November 11, 1899. 		Looking west on Fourth Street at the intersection of Fourth and Pearl Streets was constructed a large evergreen four posted arch in the middle of the street. People gathered on a cold November 1899 day to celebrate the returning Ellensburg troops…

ca. 1910. 		Street excavation did not disturb the fourteen pedestrians visible in this one-block section of pre-fire Cle Elum. The boys at center perhaps had more interest in the ice cream parlor than in the Costello & Grant's Clothing Store.

1913. 		The Farmers Bank Building on the northwest corner of 5th Avenue and Pearl Street was completed in 1911. The foundation was put in during the fall of 1910, and actual construction was begun the following spring. Brick and timber were on the ground in…

ca. 1914. 		The Farmers Bank Building on the northwest corner of Fifth and Pearl Streets was completed in 1911. The building was designed by Fay R. Spangler. The large brick and timber structure was begun the fall of 1910 and by mid June 1911 the attractive…

ca. 1915. 		Most surviving photographs of Cle Elum's downtown face west. This view documents the enormous street width decreed by the town's founders and the highly inflammable wooden buildings destroyed in 1918.

ca. 1898. 		Looking south down Sprague Street at the intersection of Fourth Avenue, the original First Baptist Church on left can be seen. After Rev. C. W. Reese helped establish a Baptist Church in Ellensburg in 1887, the First Baptist Church building was…

1894. 		The cornerstone of the first Methodist Episcopal Church was laid in 1891 and the church building and parsonage was completed in 1893. This large and inspiring building replaced a small one room church which was destroyed by the July 4, 1889 fire. A…

ca. 1910. 		The First Methodist Episcopal Church built in 1893 was located on the northeast corner of N. Ruby Street and Third Avenue. On right can be seen the large two story parsonage. This church was used until 1921.Postcard titled: "No. 16 M. E. Church,…

ca. 1905. 		In 1884, Rev. James A. Laurie arrived in Ellensburg and through his efforts the Presbyterian Academy was built as a school house for local children. In 1898, the Academy was moved to the corner of N. Sprague Street and Fifth Avenue and a large…

ca. 1930. 		The First Presbyterian Church in Ellensburg built in 1898-1899 was located on the corner of N. Sprague and Fifth Avenue. Church services were held here until 1958 when the building was torn down.

ca. 1944. 		Before Interstate Highway 90 was constructed and opened in the late 1960s, Cle Elum's First Street was also Highway 10. The street within the city limits offered many hotels and restaurants to travelers and visitors. Looking west on First…

ca. 1915. 		Automobile enthusiasts promoted road improvements in novel ways. Colonel Thatcher of the National Good Roads Commitee passed through Cle Elum in this pioneer cart to point out that roads had hardly changed in two generations.Title on original…

1941. 		Looking west along Fourth (left) and Fifth (right) Streets across Chestnut Street, a large portion of Ellensburg's eastern residential area can be seen. Archie and Mildred Eastham lived in the large white house (center) at the time this…

ca. 1898. 		Looking west on Fourth Street between Pine and Main Streets, three large post July 1889 fire brick buildings can be seen. On the right the Elmira Building, center Davidson Building, and left Cadwell-Olympic Building. Large canvas awnings provided…

ca. 1915. 		Looking west on Fourth Street at the intersection of Fourth and Pearl Streets, two modes of transportation are seen. On the right are the Ellensburg Post Office and the Elmira Building which housed the large New York Store and the Un Café. In the…

ca. 1915. 		Looking west on Fourth Street and the intersection of Fourth and Pine Street. Large Elmira Building is on the right and the Davidson Building is in center.Enlarged photographic reprint of STS-025.

ca. 1915. 		Looking west on Fourth Street at the intersection of Fourth and Pine Street. Large Elmira Building which housed the New York Store is on right and the Davidson Building location of the Albany Hotel is in center.Enlarged photographic reprint of…