Building the Northwest and the Birth of Classic Northwest Songs

Megan Sukys
04/10/2008

Today, we celebrate the people who helped build the Northwest we know today. We meet the visionary behind Gas Works Park, peek inside the art deco "cave" of the Seattle Tower, and discover why one of the Northwest's most influential architects was forced out of his job.


At 2:05 p.m. – Sound Focus Lookback: The Birth of Classic NW Songs
Writing and recording music takes great technical skills, a lot of heart, and a little bit of magic. These Stories from the Soundboard highlight pivotal moments in songcraft feature Northwest producers Kearney Barton and Scott Colburn. Kearney Barton recalls recording "Werewolf," in 1960 by groundbreaking Northwest band The Frantics. Scott Colburn describes how the Montreal band Arcade Fire met the challenge of finding just the right instrumentation for their 2007 song "Intervention."

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• The Frantics
• Arcade Fire
• Gravel Voice

At 2:20 p.m. – Sound Focus Lookback: Building the Northwest
For a city that started as a pioneer camp, Seattle has always had grand ambitions. The Seattle Tower was built in 1929 at the height of the art deco movement, and its design tells the story of a city on the rise. Local architect and UW Professor Lionel Pries inspired the designs of the Space Needle, Disneyland, and the World Trade Center. Richard Haag dreamed of building a park out of a polluted industrial complex: where others saw an eyesore in the rusting plant on Lake Union, Richard saw its potential. Dave Beck, Megan Sukys and Jeannie Yandel gathered these wonderful stories of Seattle's architectural feats.

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KUOW does not endorse nor control the content viewed on these links as they appear now or in the future.

• Seattle Architecture
• Lionel Pries Slideshow in the Seattle Times
• Gas Works Park
• Richard Haag info page at University of Washington

At 2:40 p.m. – Sounds Familiar
Amanda Wilde, host of The Swing Years and Beyond, joins us with the little-known history of songs we didn't know we knew so well.

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KUOW does not endorse nor control the content viewed on these links as they appear now or in the future.

• The Swing Years and Beyond