The Washington Trust and Historic Seattle are thrilled to bring you a new slate of speakers in the Winter/Spring 2026 edition of “Historic Talks in Historic Buildings.” The lecture series brings public programs into historic places across Seattle—places rich with history and meaning—while highlighting the voices and scholarship shaping our understanding of the past. Selected from the 2026-2027 Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau, the speakers showcase the range of topics, questions, and discussions at the heart of historic preservation in Washington State.

“All Over The Map: Stories Behind the Names of Washington Places and Things,” presented by Feliks Banel
How did your town get its name? What about your neighborhood school? Or that locally made candy bar? In this talk, get the big picture of how names were given to geographic places in Washington, as well as to iconic local brands, and how those names can reflect deeper and sometimes challenging meanings. Explore how names often evolve to better connect us to place and to our neighbors.

  • Date: POSTPONED
  • Location: Stimson-Green Mansion (1204 Minor Ave, Seattle, WA 98101)
  • Tickets: $25 $10 (reduced cost access supported by 4Culture)
  • Attendees: This event is 21+
POSTPONED

This event is also part of the Washington Trust’s community event series, “Thursdays at the Stimson-Green Mansion.” Learn more here.

“Move It On Over: Stories and Songs of Hank Williams,” presented by Joel Underwood
Moving back and forth between Williams’ early formative years and the night of his mysterious death, these two acts (approximately 80 minutes total) feature ten beloved songs and leaves audiences nostalgic but thoughtful on the subjects of addiction, fame, and generational trauma.

  • Date: Monday, March 2 at 7:30 pm (doors at 7:00 pm)
  • Location: Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103)
  • Tickets: $25 $10 (reduced cost access supported by 4Culture)
  • Attendees: This event is open to all ages
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“Pavement and Plucky Girls: 1920s Tales from Washington’s First Highway,” presented by Teresa Andre
Travel 1920s Washington State along one of the first modern highways—the Yellowstone Trail—which ran from here to Massachusetts. Along the way, meet the people and places grappling with the dizzying changes this new innovation brought.

From the young people who gained new freedoms, including the women who stunned Pullman by driving without a male escort, to the bootleggers, bachelors, and flappers who drove, walked, and hitchhiked the newfangled road. Join educator Teresa Andre for a series of fascinating stories that lay at the dawn of our car-obsessed culture.

  • Date: Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 pm (doors at 7:00 pm)
  • Location: Stimson-Green Mansion (1204 Minor Ave, Seattle, WA 98101)
  • Tickets: $25 $10 (reduced cost access supported by 4Culture)
  • Attendees: This event is 21+
Buy Tickets

This event is also part of the Washington Trust’s community event series, “Thursdays at the Stimson-Green Mansion.” Learn more here.

“How Whiskey Won Washington,” presented by Becky Garrison 
Washington has a mixed history with liquor. Efforts to ban or restrict it date back to 1854, before the region even attained statehood, and “blue laws” remained on the books well into the 20th century. Yet a modern craft distilling boom is happening in the Evergreen State, and our distillers have emerged as forerunners in the burgeoning American Single Malt revolution.

How did whiskey inspire both trouble and innovation? How did its import by settlers affect Indigenous communities and other groups? And how did whiskey play a role in the very creation of our state? Join author and journalist Becky Garrison as she distills the history of the barrel and the bottle in our state. Meet Jimmie Durkin, an enterprising saloon owner, and Roy Olmstead, a former Seattle cop turned gentleman bootlegger, and other fascinating figures who turned to the business of liquor.

  • Date: Thursday, May 7 at 7:30 pm (doors at 7:00 pm)
  • Location: Stimson-Green Mansion (1204 Minor Ave, Seattle, WA 98101)
  • Tickets: $25 $10 (reduced cost access supported by 4Culture
  • Attendees: This event is 21+
Buy Tickets

This event is also part of the Washington Trust’s community event series, “Thursdays at the Stimson-Green Mansion.” Learn more here.

Together, the Washington Trust and Historic Seattle look forward to welcoming you into these historic buildings and hearing from these incredible speakers. Be sure to join us!

For more information or questions about these venues, please contact Abby Armato and Evan Bue.

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