New Books Network Jennifer Ott, "Where the City Meets the Sound: The Story of Seattle's Waterfront" (HistoryLink, 2025) This
Dec 19, 2025
Jennifer Ott, an environmental historian and Executive Director of HistoryLink, dives into Seattle's waterfront history in her latest book. She explores its evolution from Indigenous life at Dzidzilalich to the tumultuous shifts caused by immigration and labor struggles. The 2001 Nisqually Earthquake acted as a catalyst for revitalization, leading to the creation of Waterfront Park. Ott discusses the importance of acknowledging Indigenous connections and how Seattle's shoreline continues to reflect the city's dynamic identity.
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Shoreline Shaped Human Networks
- Seattle's central waterfront was a rich, interconnected seascape used as canoe highways by Coast Salish peoples for millennia.
- The village Zizalalich sat on scarce level land that later shaped where settlers built the city.
City Built On Pilings And Fill
- Early settlers built extended piers and "neighborhoods on pilings" to reach deep water for trade and lumber exports.
- Haphazard filling of tideflats created unstable, improvised shoreline infrastructure vulnerable to decay.
Exclusion Amid Dependence
- Settler city-building aimed to exclude Indigenous communities while paradoxically relying on their labor and knowledge.
- Early ordinances barred Indigenous residence, revealing colonization's contradictory demands.