EVERETT — History buffs will soon have easier access to information about Everett’s historic buildings.
The state recently awarded Everett $5,900 to put its information regarding about 470 historic buildings onto the state’s new historic property database and to print more copies of a self-guided walking and driving tour of the city.
The state database will be accessible via the Internet in two to five years.
"Everyone around Puget Sound will have access to the history of Everett," said Jack O’Donnell, a member of the Everett Historical Commission. "From 1890 to 1910, the city’s population grew rapidly, and Everett is blessed with a lot of buildings from then."
The state’s electronic database is only a year old and was created in part because of a fear that paper-based catalogs of historic buildings could be destroyed by fire, said Megan Duvall, certified local government coordinator for the state Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation.
For the past 10 years or so, Everett has had its own electronic database of 169 buildings; descriptions of the other 300 buildings are in paper records. But the state database is more user-friendly and will be accessible to historians and others doing research in the office’s Olympia research center, she said.
Entries typically include information on the building’s construction date, its architectural style, changes that have been made over the years, a list of owners and other historical details.
The city first printed the "Touring Everett’s Historic Neighborhoods" brochure in 1999, but there are only a few copies left. The grant allows the city to print 2,000 more copies of the 40-page brochure, which offers self-guided tours of neighborhoods and descriptions of selected historic buildings.
The city distributes the brochures to the Snohomish County Visitor Information Centers, neighborhood groups, schools and other venues.
"It’s a way to give people more understanding about the history of Everett," said Dave Koenig, the city’s manager of long-range planning and community development.
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
