Heritage Tourism

In King County, visitors who stay overnight in our hotels, inns, and B&Bs pay a lodging tax that helps to support cultural organizations and landmark sites throughout King County, through the funding programs of 4Culture. With its Heritage Tourism Initiative, 4Culture seeks to spread the economic benefits of tourism countywide, by encouraging visitors to venture beyond Seattle's main attractions and explore the landmarks and landscapes of our smaller communities. Key partners in this initiative include the Association of King County Historical Organizations, the King County Historic Preservation Program, and the King County Roads Services Division.

Goals and Objectives of the 4Culture Heritage Tourism Initiative

• Raise the visibility of historic places in all of King County's suburban cities and rural communities
• Enhance the economic health of suburban and rural areas by increasing visitation to those areas
• Recognize historic attractions that embody best practices in heritage tourism
• Encourage high standards of "visitor readiness" among King County's heritage sites
• Support collaborative events and joint marketing efforts that focus on important themes in King County history

Destination Heritage Project

4Culture is pleased to continue its themed guide series promoting heritage travelthroughout King County. With support from Preserve America, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the King County Historic Preservation Program, this project features three of the county's most significant historical themes: Maritime, Agriculture and Industry. Each of these themes is brought to life in colorful booklets, an interactive website, and cell-phone accessed audio recordings for select sites around the county.

The visually rich booklets guide visitors from popular Seattle tourist attractions (such as the Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square), out to lesser-known history sites around the county. Each themed booklet contains around 15 to 20 featured sites. These include: location and contact information (GPS coordinates provided!); a brief description; information about other attractions "in the vicinity"; and a large map with all the featured sites within each theme. Certain sites also have an accompanying audio recording that users can access from the web or via a cell phone.

In addition to the booklets, two new websites support the project: www.DestinationHeritage.org, which provides overviews of the project and its three themes, and Listen4Culture, which displays an interactive map and accompanying audio tours. Listen 4Culture is a partnership between Public Art, Heritage and Preservation 4Culutre and provides multiple maps and self-guided tours of the county’s heritage sites and public art pieces.

Please contact Brandi Link at (206) 296-8707 for more information on the Destination Heritage project, copies of the brochures, or to schedule a presentation for your group.

4Culture "Golden Rain Globe" Award for Excellence in Heritage Tourism

4Culture's "Golden Rain Globe" award was inaugurated in 2007 as a way to recognize the outstanding contributions of historic sites and heritage organizations to our local tourism industry. Each year's recipient demonstrates successful adherence to the five principles of sustainable heritage tourism, established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. These include: finding a balance between community and tourism; making sites and programs come alive; preserving and protecting heritage resources; collaboration; and focus on quality and authenticity.

Sunny Speidel, the tour founder's daughter and owner of the Underground Tour, accepted the honor at the 27th annual AKCHO awards on April 27, 2010 at MOHAI. For over 45 years, the Underground Tour's humorous spin on local history has attracted visitors from around the world, presenting entertaining authentic history and serving as a catalyst for preservation and support of the Pioneer Square community. The 2009 Golden Rain Globe was presented to the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, and the 2008 award to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie.

Historic & Scenic Corridors Project

King County DOT, Road Services Division has now completed a comprehensive survey of the county's network of roads, part of an effort to celebrate the county's rich transportation history. Preservation 4Culture served as a project consultant, conducting all field work and historic research. The survey documents over 100 years of road building in our region, and identifies nine especially picturesque "Heritage Corridors" in unincorporated areas of King County.

The King County Landmarks Commission formally designated eight of these corridors as Community Landmarks at a public hearing in June, 2009. The ninth corridor, the Old Sunset Highway over Snoqualmie Pass, is primarily managed by the National Forest Service and was not proposed for designation at this time. For the full report, individual corridor histories, maps and images, visit the project's new website. For more information on the Historic and Scenic Corridors project, and plans for interpreting these corridors in the future, contact Ruth Harvey at 206 296.3477.

For more information on the Heritage Tourism Initiative, contact Flo Lentz, Preservation 4Culture, 206 296.8682.