Seattle 1955 HD - Home movies by land and sky

In 1955 my grandfather made a trip to Seattle, WA during his time with the Naval Air Reserve. He brought his 16mm camera along and captured these great images.

[@user-ib3qb5zn8u]

I am russian fishermen , i was in Seattle 3 autem month 1995 , when worked in american crab bo JUNO .we fixed self boat on a Foss Ship Yard .on BULLARD ....it was a very good time ! i was 25 old !!!!!! Passed many years , but i remember warm and goodness of this Grand best country !!! Salute from Vladivostok !!!!! ( russia ) /

[@jodybogdanovich4333]

Very good to hear. I pray for the end of Putin's War. 🙏🙏🙏 May God help your people, but especially the people of Ukraine.

[@user-ib3qb5zn8u]

Russia this is crime mistake of history .. Communism this cancer of Humanity ...Keep clear English World out "red AIDS " please ...

[@glennwhite1841]

Thank you. I hope you can visit again!

[@glennwhite1841]

Wow Lake Washington Floating bridge, Tacoma Narrows and Deception Pass all in the same video. Incredible! The best!

[@stefanpredoi4564]

How wonderful to see Seattle's past in such high quality!

[@stanburdick9708]

And its demise after 2000

[@mikedonnelly1911]

It will always confuse me how videos like this get downvotes. Seriously, how can you hate historical footage? Thank you for sharing. =]

[@banjobear]

It doesn't always mean you hate it. Some who are not interested in the topic use the downvote mechanism to indicate to KZbin that they just don't want to see stuff like this in their future recommendations.

[@markhonea2461]

Yes why bother with a negative vote for something so innocuous.

[@derangedhippo5146]

Perhaps one of the only videos where I'm happy you can't see the dislikes anymore😀

[@cme98]

See, you said “pre-eruption of Mt St. Helens” 6 people disagree. Actually it never erupted. At least that’s the conspiracy. There was a catastrophic land slide from a nuclear device inside. Kim jong hung blew up a mountain in N Korea too but it caved inward not outward. Yeah.

[@crumarki]

i’ve always been a history buff, but some people just don’t like certain parts of history. some people don’t like history at all, yanno?

[@LifeinAnalog]

The shot of Mount Rainier where you can see the pre-eruption Mount Saint Helens in the distance is breathtaking! Thanks for sharing this!

[@RickLaw101]

I was wondering if that was Helens or Adams?

[@bmwweirdoguy]

Nope, that's Mt. Adams

[@paulbomber8425]

No Mt. St. Helens in the video

[@cgolden123]

No Helens in this video, however it has some cool shots of Baker and Adams.

[@psymi-hk1fp]

3:09 that is Glacier Peak

[@wasserdagger]

So nice to take a step back in time, when Seattle was more quiet and uncrowded - heck, you could even find a place to park back then! This was before I-5 through Seattle even existed. And, this was about 7 years before the '62 Worlds Fair put Seattle on the map, so to speak. I have fond memories of NAS Sand Point... my dad took us kids there to see the Blue Angels perform, in 1966. I still have all of dad's color slides of that performance. Most impressive thing I'd ever seen (and still rates up there to this day). It's weird visiting there today, w/o the Navy activity. A beehive without the bees?Loved the views of the UW campus... I wonder why there was nary a soul in sight? Must've been a Sunday or holiday. Also strange to see it without the famous cherry trees.I wish there were more aerial videos like this, of the Puget Sound area from back in the day. Maybe I could even spot my house and yard, up north of Seattle. In any case, thanks for posting this, and thanks to your grandfather for being a great guy with a home movie camera! I've enjoyed the other clips you've posted, too.

[@Crandish99]

Post/share those amazing color slides of that Blue Angel performance!

[@Leutogitupaitea]

Hello there, wasserdagger, I'm writing on behalf of the Friends of Magnuson Park, a non-profit organization that advocates for the historic preservation of the Sand Point Naval Air Station Historic District. We are currently developing a book of archival images from the Navy Base days and are collecting content. It sounds like you have some incredible photographs. I wonder if you would consider sharing them with us? We would gladly attribute the photos to your family in the published book. Thank you for considering.

[@psymi-hk1fp]

i kind of like it better without the cherry trees. better sightlines to appreciate the architecture. that massive coast redwood on the red square side wasnt planted yet either.

[@BobHarvey.]

I was born in Seattle in 1955. Grew up there and I feel lucky!

[@jodybogdanovich4333]

Vintage 1955 too but I was raised in Grays Harbor County. Raised a lot of hell in Seattle, though!

[@stanburdick9708]

@@jodybogdanovich4333 me too😎

[@MogoPrime]

I've just come across this and... I've never really been the kind of person to repeatedly watch anything but I just did. I think I watched it over and over again, transfixed, maybe 8 or 9 times. I can't describe how utterly engrossing it is. I don't know why. But after a bad day, this has made everything go away and I feel like I'm there, in 1955.

[@jodybogdanovich4333]

I watched it on my phone and it was spectacular. Will watch it on my TV and REALLY enjoy it.

[@AmericanGypsy206]

As a person, who’s from Seattle and goes to downtown Seattle weekly I could say say it looked way nicer back then

[@thomasthomaskiso5697]

My great grandparents founded the small city of Silverdale WA., in the 1800s and right now I'm sitting in Saint James Cathedral on Seattle's First Hill. This is some absolutely great footage. Thank you so much.

[@ricardomr.reporte5819]

those because Seattle 90s 2003 2016 really cool bro aol is Ricardo Mr.reporter remember me saying hello born in South Africa 🇿🇦 and Seattle seahawks Wilson at this time of year and 80th is Ricardo Mr.reporter years ago remember me saying hello how did you get out breaking news from San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Texas because

[@CatChase957]

Silverdale aint small lol

[@robertpolnicky7702]

I remember the braniff 707 in 66 coming through the clouds then coming below and seeing lake Washington as one of the most exciting times of my life.

[@brianmendez4068]

I can't believe my eyes!!! Less traffic and available parking spots!

[@roketpad]

Thank you so much for sharing this. I don't see comments identifying downtown locations, so here you go: First scene is west from 3rd and University. Building on immediate right is Pantages/Palomar theater, appears in my book Lost Seattle. Second scene is looking north on 7th from Spring. Third is looking west from 7th and Spring. At :20 we're looking down Spring from btw 9th and 10th. Then to UW, shot of Quad pre-cherry trees, then Sand Point NAS (also in my book).

[@jackhydrazine1376]

Rob Ketcherside The Pantages/Palomar theater opened in 1915 and closed in 1965. It's now a multi-story parking lot. The building that occupied that space before the theater was there was a church called the Old Plymouth Church. You can read more about it here. pauldorpat.com/2009/08/30/seattle-now-then-the-pantages-palomar/

[@roketpad]

Jack Hydrazine Right, have that on page 88 of my book Lost Seattle, and thank Paul Dorpat by name on the opening page ;) At any rate, I hope the location identification is useful to folks over time.

[@Delorean217]

+Rob Ketcherside Do you know the exact streets of the first four clips?

[@jackhydrazine1376]

Nope!

[@SolesTraveling]

Someone gave me a copy of Lost Seattle for my birthday a few years ago. I love it!

[@gedstrom]

16mm film was EXPENSIVE to buy, shoot, and process, but it gave results so much better than 8mm.

[@Conradt1996]

My grandparents moved to Seattle in 1962 and still live in the same house today... it's crazy that this is what they saw when they rolled in. Dang they've lived there forever

[@Mendoza1414]

What were the 80s like in Seattle?

[@noahthenomad]

hard to believe this was my hometown at one point, no skyscrapers!

[@jdollinter]

Smith Tower 1914

[@dallasbagley]

Wow, unbelievably beautiful. This film is a f****** treasure, seriously.

[@fistingendakenny8781]

You should watermark these to prevent Getty images or other scumbags stealing your work bro

[@islandbee]

Yes! Please do!

[@goldenhourkodak]

GettyImages would never steal random peoples content. Watermarks just ruin videos.

[@caliente6319]

@@goldenhourkodak whose content? the guy whose been dead for 30 years? i dont get it

[@troutmaskbob]

And add some music. Hendrix, or Stan Boreson.

[@carloscordova9293]

This is a national treasure

[@dieselboy610]

Good ole Naval Station in Sand Point. Grew up there and used to go shopping at the Commissary with Grandpa.

[@simio1337]

3:24 Everything looks peachy, peachy clean

[@Tchild2]

If there was a better year to live in Seattle, I would like to know it. Folks who lived in Seattle in the 1950s and 60s cannot find another place even remotely comparable.

[@queenofyeay]

Awesome, this is the Navy of my father's prime. He served during WWII and mustered out then reupped in the 50's and retired as a Chief Petty Officer with 20 years in. He mostly was on the east coast but he was flown to this very base as a trouble shooter on a problem with a P2V Neptune.

[@DailyMeditation365]

Thanks so much for sharing. Seattle looked like an amazing place to live in the 50s.

[@Geist0v]

Thank you so much for sharing! As someone who grew up in Seattle and the surrounding area who was born in the 80's, it is really cool to see how the city changed in shape and size over the years.

[@tankerjag2278]

Seattle (and WA) sure was beautiful back then. Now, not so much.

[@user-xx8ud2sr8i]

Nope. Spent 30 years there and left the now stinking, homeless turd bin.

[@chris48608]

What significant historical footage! Thanks to you and your family for sharing this view of midcentury Seattle and surrounding. Wow!

[@lynnjohnston8381]

Great footage! That is Sand Point Naval Air Station. I went to boot camp there in 1966. Can't miss those old brick buildings! Thanks!

[@Leutogitupaitea]

Hello there, Lynn I'm writing on behalf of the Friends of Magnuson Park, a non-profit organization that advocates for the historic preservation of the Sand Point Naval Air Station Historic District. We are currently developing a book of archival images from the Navy Base days and are collecting content. If you have any stories or images you would like to share, we would be very grateful for the content. I wonder if you would consider sharing them with us? We would gladly attribute the photos to your family in the published book. Thank you for considering.

[@Lamontontherun]

Crazy to seattle that long ago

[@elkkid2]

The COOLEST "Home Movie" EVER! Thanks for sharing!

[@marzsit9833]

love the shot of the original highway 10 floating bridge with the manual drawspan bulge.

[@susanrobinet9756]

Amazing, I'm sharing. Couldn't even see one house on Mercer Island.

[@smutfunk]

whoa.. the quad before the cherry trees. [fun fact -the cherry trees were planted in a "W" formation back in the day]

[@marilynsullivan4361]

I was born in Seattle in 1955. So nice to see the city as it once was.

[@tonimagelssen1628]

Great memories of Sand Point Naval Air Station. My father, Kenneth Magelssen, was a Naval officer and flew PBY's from Sand Point until his untimely death in 1962. My memories include the movie theater, swim team, officers' and enlisted mens' beach, dinner and dancing at the officers' club, building a sailboat in the hangar designated for woodworking, flight lunches my Dad would bring home, the teen dances, scuba diving club Neptune's Court ! Oh, those were special days. Wonder what my Dad would think now if he knew part of the air strip is a dog park . . Thanks for sharing that wonderful video !!!!

[@clayz1]

I grew up with a view of the north end of Lake Washington, 1963 +, on top of that ridge of land west of Bothell Way. North of 160th. Air traffic coming out out of Sand Point would be eye level or somewhat higher as it passed our house. Lots of airplanes daily. I don’t remember seeing any PBY's. Too bad, love those. There were lots of flying boxcars though, and those weird helicopters with two intermeshing rotors (Husky's?). They were the loudest things. You could here them coming and going long after they were out of sight.

[@mytriggertime2610]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@jamesleyda365]

Absolutely...... Historical footage is awesome

[@paulfabian7274]

Great film! I love seeing color photography from back in the day.

[@DebraB406]

I like this video. Wish there were more like this, of other cities, too.

[@QueyBan]

wow cool. thats the year after i moved there as a young child

[@SolesTraveling]

This is so amazing. Just beautiful shots of Mt St Helens, Rainier. Lovely.

[@stevehirjak7824]

So cool watching the takeoff from Sand Point Navy Station in a PB4Y! Neat to be in a military plane where they were allowed to fly so low over the Sound and near the mountain!

[@markhonea2461]

Pre skyscrapers. Pre space needle. What a beautiful place it was. Of course this was a rare sunny day, unseen are the more common dreary drizzly days that seem to have no end. But that's what helps keep Seattle clean I guess. Unlike L.A. .

[@sharman1738]

Wish those glaciers on Rainier were in tact today, not to mention the trees ! Very wonderful pictures. Thank you.

[@reneebriggs222]

Fantastic video. Thank you for sharing.

[@annieblakstad4102]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[@donvasquez1791]

Thank you for a beautiful look at the past! What a treasure! :)

[@BrianHansford]

Fantastic film! So much looks similar but it's amazing to see the changes. The clip of Mount St. Helens is awesome!

[@jackgoldstein2254]

I really enjoyed watching this video!

[@eddieclayton989]

Priceless!

[@JB-tr6nu]

I was born at Maynard hospital in 1955 the hospital is gone but I'm still here ....great video thanks for sharing 👍🏽

[@MicaChuStudio]

Wow! Working in Downtown Seattle right now :) this is so breathtaking, and such great quality!

[@Warnerchild]

Really cool to think of Kurt's parents whilst watching this

[@michaelbingaman2434]

Thank you so much! Love the pics of the PB4Y-2 Privateers... My Dad was an A&P Mechanic and worked on the Privateers at Sand Point at that time.

[@Leutogitupaitea]

Hello there, Michael, I'm writing on behalf of the Friends of Magnuson Park, a non-profit organization that advocates for the historic preservation of the Sand Point Naval Air Station Historic District. We are currently developing a book of archival images from the Navy Base days and are collecting content. If you have any photographs or memories from your father's time on the Base, I wonder if you would consider sharing them with us? We would gladly attribute the photos to your family in the published book. Thank you for considering.

[@ostrich67]

2:11 shows PB4Y number 201. That's the one that crashed and sunk in Lake Washington in 1956. It looks like the plane that took off in the film is number 202. Look for the video titled "Rebreather diving the PB4Y bomber wreck in Lake Washington".

[@MobySlick]

This beautiful landscape...

[@trumpete53snoho]

at 1:56 it's a quick shot of Sucia Island's Fossil Bay up front, Mud Bay on the right and Fox Cove and Little Sucia in the distance.

[@eating100]

Thankyou good movie I have visit Seattle 8 times, interesting watching the video.

[@lizwynaco2222]

Refreshing..thanks.

[@JoeBlow_4]

Just beautiful.

[@boonefires]

Beautiful video

[@celiaandrews6943]

Loved this, it's the Seattle I grew up in. Wonderful film.

[@dallasbagley]

I just realized, my grandfather was in the Navy in 1955, and he was stationed at THAT base.. He likely knew those service men in the video!

[@Oarboar1]

Eleven years after this was shot, BOAC Flight 911 would crash near Japan's Mount Fuji, a mountain much like Mount Ranier, and 113 people died because clear-air turbulence around the mountain broke up the Boeing 707. I wonder if pilots even dare to get this close to the Mount Ranier anymore because of the hard lessons learned in that crash.

[@flatwave99]

Thanks for sharing this! I've lived in the Puget Sound area since the late sixties. It's STILL a beautiful place, despite the commenters who insist on politicizing everything in support of their dismal, alt-right worldview.

[@sempervirens2064]

Seattle is full of heroin and meth addict bums who shit in the streets, rape women, throw trash everywhere, trample restored native plants in greenbelts, assault tourists, and give us the highest property crime of any big city in USA. And we're only wasting a $1 billion per year catering to these loser drug addict vagrant bums. It's a beautiful place despite the left wing loons and their pet drug addict bums.

[@AddieRogan]

Absolutely AWESOME!!! Beautiful footage!!! Thank you for sharing!!

[@LouieLewLou1]

Seeing the way my town look like in the past is so surreal!

[@anthonygratton422]

I love the UW Campus. We used to go over there and party with the college people. It was so much fun. This was in the early 2000s tho. Like 04 -05. But yeah the students loved us coming out there . We was from areas that they admired in a way. So when would come visit us ,we welcome all ofem them like our own ,just like they do with us . Love UW.

[@bearron]

Thanks. My parents moved there a few years later. I have some footage somewhere.

[@GaryFujiokaSr]

Grandad had a great eye.

[@saxorexic]

Wow! Such great footage and unbelievable film quality.

[@nesbittjohn]

Incredible footage! Thanks very much for sharing.

[@williammetcalf7239]

Such great vintage color film of an area that I used to spend a good amount of time in.

[@dannydubya9410]

Absolutely extraordinary. Thanks for sharing

[@griesTheGries]

awesome.....16mm was high tech!!......still is great.

[@moodyangel]

Really just the coolest video. Thank you for sharing this. The colors are outstanding!

[@meng4092]

Wow! I didn't know that these famous cherry trees at UW Quad were not even there in 1955!!! According to the Internet, these cherry trees were transplanted from the Washington Park Arboretum to UW when construction on Highway 520 began in the ‘60s!..

[@mikekallas4170]

Meng i remember when the lumber yard in ballard caught fire. i just lived a few blocks north of it , never saw so much fire and smoke. the year was 1959.

[@harperwelch5147]

Interesting to see Sand Point Naval Airstation still functioning as one.

[@grafikarolina]

Thank you very much for sharing! What a great video!

[@MetalTeamster]

That is so very very cool. Priceless.... TY for posting.

[@SimmeringPotpourri]

AWESOME! Thank you for posting this.

[@JMStfchk]

Wonderful video! Thank you for posting it.

[@craigrogers2882]

superb....Thank You

[@eeros4192]

Top Films! Greetings from Finland! Other videos on Your channel are absolutely fantastic too!

[@robertpolnicky7702]

That university of Washington ought to rank as one of the prettiest campuses. My opinion.

[@planesrift]

Glorious.

[@GramMooakaRed]

Thank you for this wonderful video. I grew up right in the neighborhood right above the tunnels in Mt Baker. It was a beautiful place to live.

[@stpaulimdog]

That was a pretty nice camera for back then. My dad bought an 8mm in 1962 and it wasn't nearly this good.

[@toevlugsoord]

Thank you for sharing!!! This is awesome!

[@RyanCrase]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

[@Twotontessie]

Great stuff! I'm in Nashville now but you'll never take the Northwest out of this Northwest Native.

[@-MattMcCauley-]

Amazing footage, THANKS for posting! That was Naval Air Station Seattle at Sand Point. The aircraft he was aboard was a Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, the land-based naval B-24 variant. We found one on the bottom of Lake Washington in the early 1980's, about 160' down--it is a great dive! www.fennent.com/images/ImageGallery/planes/pb4y2-1.htm

[@msmaxola]

Thanks so much, I loved it.

[@foghornblue]

This is incredible footage and held up really well. Thanks for taking the time to digitize and upload. I spy Rialto Beach and La Push @ 2:22.

[@WillyMcCoy50]

I grew up by the NAS Sandpoint. Thank you!

[@Visiting-Vintage]

WOW! I love this! And the quality is amazing! Thank you for sharing it!

[@markhonea2461]

The bluest skies you've ever seen were in Seattle.

[@TheKawaiifan]

Wow. Seattle 63 years ago. Everything looks samey, but also differenty

[@Jenk-Films]

wow! great find

[@saltysailor141]

Go Navy! A retired swabbie here. ⚓️

[@Egglicks7]

Dude, thank you very much for sharing this. This footage is really great.

[@plasticwax]

Wow man. Just came across this video. It's pretty stunning and amazing what your grandfather captured. Thanks for sharing man! Pretty awesome!

As a guy born here in the #pnw and of a certain age... This is a most wonderful share! Great footage! Thank you for sharing this!