Redmond celebrates National Preservation Month and 10th anniversary of downtown historic walking tours
Published 3:07 pm Tuesday, April 30, 2013
May is National Preservation Month and this year’s theme encourages the greater community to “See, Save, and Celebrate” historic places.
In the City of Redmond, residents can do this by joining one of the downtown historic walking tours. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the tours, which provide opportunities to connect with the city’s past, present and future.
The walking tour season began in April and continues through September. The remaining tours will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. on May 19 and June 16. In addition, there will be a tour of Redmond’s Pioneer Cemetery at 11:30 a.m. on July 21 and a Haunted History and Storytelling tour on Sept. 15 during the early evening. Additional tour opportunities are also available by request.
Local historian Tom Hitzroth works with the Redmond Historical Society to provide narrative tours of downtown’s historic buildings to the Redmond community. These tours help support the historical society while informing participants about the people who once frequented the river valley, farmed the flats, logged the forests and built a place initially named Salmonberg.
In partnership with the Redmond Historical Society and complementing their digital walking tour app, several audio files recapture Hitzroth’s depictions of yesteryear. Recorded narratives on the city’s website tell the story of people and places as well as architectural details for the city’s 16 designated historic landmarks.
Additional information regarding the tours, the audio files, and other aspects of Redmond’s history is available at tinyurl.com/cn5kx3w or by contacting Senior Planner Kimberly Dietz at (425) 556-2415 or kdietz@redmond.gov.
