RHS
Walking Tours
2010 Redmond Walking Tour Schedule
Much of Redmond's history can be gleaned from the stories known about our town's oldest buildings, and Tom Hitzroth is a master at telling them.
Tour Dates: April 18, May16 , June 20, September 19
Reserve your spot via 425.885.2919 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The cost is $8 per person and proceeds will go to purchase a bench for the walking route. The 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. tour starts at the Justice White House across from Half-Priced Books.
The illustrated Historical Walking Tours Brochure is available for reading on-line (PDF). [Note: this is fairly large file, and opens slowly in a new window.]
It was during the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration that the idea for the Redmond Walking Tour was started as part of a bicentennial community project. It was a way to introduce Redmond’s history to old timers as well as newcomers. And there were many new comers arriving daily in Redmond. As part of the project we had 14 brass plaques made and placed on the buildings to show what the original building was used for.
Dorothy White Hanscom, daughter of Supreme Court Justice White, wrote the initial narrative for 14 buildings in downtown Redmond. I was Bicentennial Chairperson and together Dorothy and I put together a brochure with the help of Vern Lindquist, who drew the map, and printed the brochure.
That was some 30 plus years ago and since then the ‘Tour’ has had many revisions and buildings have been added as information became available. The Chamber of Commerce added some information and printed some brochures. But the biggest revision was done by Naomi Hardy, founder of the Redmond Historical Society. Her efforts actually put the ‘Tour’ on the map, so to speak…Her ability to ferret out information and go through dozens of records and census info, added much interest to the brochure. Plus the many pictures of the buildings…. The City of Redmond now prints the official ‘Walking Tour Guide’ and maintains a Kiosk at the Leary Way Corner Park that displays our founding father and mothers. Special dates are set to attend the Tour, plus a modest fee to raise money for some benches along the way.
Submitted by: Christine Himes, President Redmond Historical Society
Christine Himes served as Redmond's first full-time mayor, 1980-1984. Read more about our Former Mayor in the January 2009 Newsletter (PDF).
Coffee Chat Celebrates Redmond's Unique History
By Tim Watanabe
Redmond Reporter Sports Reporter
Aug 06 2010, 12:21 PM
Held on the first Friday of each month, the Redmond Senior Center's "Coffee Chat" series allows residents to learn more about various programs and services in the community.
On Aug. 6, attendees were treated to a presentation by Judy Lang and Christine Himes of the Redmond Historical Society, which was founded 10 years ago by 22 charter members to help preserve Redmond's history.
Since then, the organization has grown by leaps and bounds.
"From those 22 people, we now have 250 paid memberships, and a newsletter that we put out free of charge by mail or e-mail to over 1,000 people," marveled Lang. "We didn't plan to be a museum ... but we want to preserve and share Redmond's history through photos, oral histories, and just make people aware of what our area looked like at one time."
Lang, who was born and raised in Redmond, and Himes, who has been in the area 46 years, both shared memorable stories of the city before it became the sprawling suburban oasis it is today.
"In 1964, I came here with my family and ended up on 116th, another street that is closed today," laughed Himes. "That was when Redmond had between 5-7,000 people."
Himes added that the year she moved to Redmond, the city installed its first stoplight.
"It wasn't even a red and green one," she recalled. "Just a cautionary signal."
The chat was highlighted by a fun trivia game where attendees were tested on their knowledge of Redmond's history.
While some questions were easier, such as Redmond's current tagline being "The Bicycle Capital of the Northwest," most were challenging to even the historically polished old-timers.
Did you know, for example, that the four official historical landmarks in Redmond are the Old Redmond Schoolhouse, United Methodist Church, Redmond Cemetery and the Oddfellows building on Leary Way?
And Himes surprised everyone by including herself as the answer to the question: "Who was Redmond's first woman mayor?"
"They called me Hurricane Himes," said Himes, who served from 1980-1983. "I just changed everything, turned it all around and got rid of what was not working."
Redmond will be celebrating its centennial in 2012, and the Society has some big plans to welcome the city's 100th year with a bang.
"We have been accumulating (things)... so we can present some history of the city of Redmond for its 100 years of being around," Himes stated.
The group has already put in five exhibits in the new liquor store downtown and has a booth at the popular Saturday Market at Redmond Town Center.
But as a non-profit, the Society thrives on grants and donations to stay afloat, something that Lang and Himes were certain to acknowledge.
They said they have had six lifetime memberships given to the Society at $1,000 apiece, and the now-defunct Sammamish Valley News gave them 8,000 photo negatives for historical archiving.
"We were really pleased that those wonderful people came forth to help us out," Himes said. "We don't have a huge budget and being a non-profit, we have to (rely) on grants a lot."
And the Society has received a lot of support from the city itself, helping ensure Redmond's colorful history remains preserved for future generations.
"The City of Redmond helps us by giving us free rent in the community center, and they print our newsletter and mail it for us and let us use their auditorium at no cost," Himes noted. "Without all that, we probably would be out of business."
Redmond Reporter Sports Reporter Tim Watanabe can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (425) 867-0353, ext. 5054.
We have 8 general meetings a year, (January-May, and then September-November) as well as a summer picnic. The general meetings are the second Saturday of each month, 10:30 a.m.-noon, at the Old Schoolhouse. Each meeting includes a presentation on some aspect of Redmond or Eastside history.
Our Purpose: To Discover, Recover, Preserve, Share and Celebrate Redmond's History
Bicycle Capital of the Northwest
By Jerry Torell
How did Redmond, Washington become associated with the bicycle and become known as “The Bicycle Capital of the Northwest?”
To quote Nancy Way, author of her book, Our Town Redmond, “it all started as a scheme to raise money for downtown Christmas decorations and school athletic equipment. The Redmond Bike Derby, the nation’s oldest bicycle road race, was the outgrowth of a small town’s public spirit. Started in 1939, it came to life during the tail end of the depression, born of a determined drive to get things done and have a good time no matter what hardships the community was facing.”
I was born and raised in Seattle and came to Redmond in November of 1967 to rebuild Redmond One Hour Martinizing Dry Cleaners after its failure. I served as manager over the next 14 years to build it into the largest dry cleaners in the city, now known as the “Cleaning Center of Redmond” in the Redmond Shopping Center on Redmond Way.
In February of 1968 I joined the Redmond Chamber of Commerce and the new charter of the Redmond Jaycees to begin a wild ride in community service.
The Redmond Bike Derby was just one of the other civic involvement’s I became part of. The bike derby road races were always a major part of the events with riders coming from around the country and Canada to compete in the race around Lake Sammamish.