When: September 30, 10 AM

Subject: The Secrets of Seattle’s Disappearing Hill (Seattle Walking Tour)

Leader: David B. Williams, author, naturalist and tour guide.

Meeting place: The southwest corner of 2nd and Pine Street. We end two blocks north at 2nd and Virginia.

Bring:  Good walking shoes, water

Cost: $35.00

Please note there is no transportation on this trip. It is up to participants to find their way to the start point on their own.

The Secrets of Seattle’s Disappearing Hill – The Denny Hill Regrade Project – Between 1898 and 1930, Seattle completed its most audacious engineering change by eliminating Denny Hill at the north end of downtown. Seattleites washed away and scraped more than 11 cubic million yards of landscape, reducing the previously 240-foot-high mound to its present pancake topography. David will discuss the full scope of this massive regrade project, point out often overlooked but still existing evidence of the topographic changes, and explain how this reshaping of the Seattle’s landscape continues to shape Seattle and those who call it home. The walk covers about two miles of flat terrain and lasts between 90-120 minutes, depending on how many questions you ask.

David B. Williams is an author, naturalist and tour guide whose award-winning book, Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound is a deep exploration of the stories of this beautiful waterway.  He is  also the author of the award-winning book Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography (covering the topic of this field trip), as well as Seattle Walks:  Discovering History and Nature in the City.  Willams is a Curatorial Associate at the Burke Museum and writes a free weekly newsletter, the Street Smart Naturalist.

We are limiting the trip to 20 participants to ensure all can hear.