SHARING INSPIRING STORIES THAT MATTER

First Hill is remembered for its grand mansions and elegant residents. One of its most remarkable stories tells of the Stimson family, whose mansion still stands on Minor Avenue, raising two orphaned bear cubs around 1910.

Every so often a roofline in the Northwest leans steeply skyward, its broad eaves casting long shadows. These are chalets — a motif that began in the Swiss Alps as sturdy mountain shelters, then crossed oceans and decades to settle among our cedars and suburbs.

When Sleepless in Seattle (1993) premiered, it placed Lake Union at the center of a love story that felt universal. Sam and Jonah’s houseboat bobbing on its waters became one of cinema’s most recognizable homes. The lake’s stillness framed grief and possibility, while ferries and seaplanes stitched together the sense that connection might always be just across the water.

Camano Island, surrounded by the quiet waters of Puget Sound, has long offered nourishment to those who call it home.

The historic Interurban Trail follows the route of a once-revolutionary electric railway line that helped shape the region.