On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel tours the historic "U.S. Immigrant Station and Assay Office" on the south edge of downtown Seattle with Brian Lane, one of the many artists who have studio spaces inside the former U.S. government facility.

Brian Lane is a printmaker and letterpress artist who's had a studio in the building for 12 years. He's an arts educator, and is deeply committed to his art, as well as to sharing the history of the old immigration facility - and especially how that history intersects with his work, with current events, and with the work of others artists who have spaces there.

The non-profit group Friends of Inscape will hold the holiday season edition of their twice-a-year-only open studios event on Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. Admission is free. The event features dozens of artists and crafts vendors offering their wares, thought-provoking history displays about specific elements and places within the former immigration facility, and peeks inside some of the most distinctive studio spaces in the Pacific Northwest.

More information about Friends of Inscape Open Studios on December 6, 2025:
https://friendsofinscape.org/news/inscape-arts-open-studios-winter-2025

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

BONUS EPISODE: Tour of Former Immigration Bldg in Seattle and Preview of INSCAPE Open Studios on Sat., Dec. 6, 2025

On this BONUS HOLIDAY EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel shares archival audio from his 25th annual holiday radio play.

"Northpole PM News" was conceived of, produced and directed by Feliks Banel in his role as founding director of Seattle Radio Theatre, a volunteer group he created in 2000 at the old Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle's Montlake neighborhood. The festive play is a parody of American drive-time radio news, and features several well-known and highly talented local radio voices. It was originally broadcast live - and commercial-free! - on a commercial station in Seattle on December 5, 2024.

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

BONUS HOLIDAY EPISODE: Archival Audio "Northpole PM News" LIVE Christmas Radio Play

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Elisa Renouard, Lecturer at the University of Washington Architecture Department and Associate at Olson Kundig Architects in Seattle.

After hearing about our conversation earlier this week with landscape architect Laurie Olin – where Mr. Olin described an assignment he did as a student at the University of Washington 65 years and which he assumed was lost to the mists of time - Ms. Renouard shared a copy of Mr. Olin’s work from the UW archives (parts of which have been posted at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page). There’s a lot to discuss about that assignment, and about the work Elisa Renouard is doing now with her students to explore and re-create parts of Seattle that were wiped off the map decades ago – as part of a recurring student exhibit called “CITY ERASED.”

I spoke with Elisa Renouard on Thursday, December 4, 2025.

For more information about Elisa Renouard:
https://arch.be.uw.edu/people/elisa-renouard/

For more information about the "CITY ERASED" project:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLnDJBbJirQ/

To hear the BONUS EPISODE with Laurie Olin:
https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/bonus-episode-laurie-olin

To see Laurie Olin's 1960 UW study of the Kalmar Hotel:
https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/archps/id/1544/rec/8

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

BONUS EPISODE: Seattle Architect Elisa Renouard on Laurie Olin, Vic Steinbrueck, a homework assignment from 1960 - and "CITY ERASED"

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Lt. Colonel Erik Flint (retired) LIVE from Pearl Harbor Day commemorations in Honolulu; Roving Correspondent Ken Zick with multiple LIVE UPDATES from Candy Cane Lane in Seattle; meteorologist Scott Sistek on storm history and his new Emerald City Weather Blog; and Frank Abe on Rachel Maddow's new podcast about Japanese American incarceration during World War II - and a preview of the live production of "We Hold These Truths" that Frank is participating in on Monday, December 15, 2025 at 7:30pm Pacific Time at Town Hall Seattle (and which will be broadcast LIVE as a special episode of CASCADE OF HISTORY).

More information about the LIVE BROADCAST of "We Hold These Truths":
https://townhallseattle.org/event/we-hold-these-truths/

More info about Lt. Colonel Erik Flint (retired) :
https://stephenambrosetours.com/historian/erik-flint/

Candy Cane Lane Official Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/SeattleCandyCaneLane/

Scott Sistek's Emerald City Weather Blog:
https://emeraldcityweather.com/

Frank Abe's RESISTERS Website:
https://resisters.com/author/frankabe/

Links to more information about all of these stories - and photos of Candy Cane Lane by Ken Zick - are available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/groups/cascadeofhistory

This LIVE broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was originally presented at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, December 7, 2025 via SPACE 101.1 FM and gallantly streaming live via www.space101fm.org from historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

Ep. 128: LIVE REPORT from Pearl Harbor Commemorations in Hawaii; LIVE UPDATES from Candy Cane Lane; Meteorologist Scott Sistek on Storm History; and Frank Abe on Japanese American Incarceration

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel presents vintage audio – recorded by him by holding his Sanyo tape recorder near the radio speaker on the night of December 8, 1980. Former Beatle John Lennon had been assassinated in New York City.

In Seattle, on FM rock station KISW, legendary DJ Steve Slaton was on the air. Within minutes of the news reaching Seattle, he did what live and local radio used to do better than any other medium: he opened up the phone lines. In this long excerpt, we hear what amounts to a master class in how thoughtful, talented and local radio voices worked regularly to subtly build community, by connecting real live people in real-time to something bigger than themselves. Radio used to do this kind of thing every day of the week, and it was especially priceless during times of crisis or heartache.

As most people know in 2025, while it has some value, social media can often feel hollow and algorithmic. The humanity is often scrubbed away and re-packaged. In this tape - from a defiantly human era of radio and a particularly heart-wrenching night - we hear a real person, organic and unfiltered and serving a mass audience, and providing that "community glue” that radio, in the right hands, can still do so well. The sound quality is not great, and during pregnant pauses, music from another station can be heard. The content is surprisingly raw, with both Slaton and one of the callers uttering expletives – which have been bleeped out after the fact (those expletives, remarkably, went out over the airwaves on December 8, 1980).

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

BONUS EPISODE: Vintage Audio - Steve Slaton of KISW Seattle Opens the Phones after John Lennon is Murdered

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel presents his archival interview from 2009 with the late Bryan Johnson, longtime KOMO Radio and TV journalist in Seattle whose passing at age 89 was announced on December 8, 2025.

Just a few weeks ago, we featured a 2013 interview with Bryan Johnson about when he was on the radio in Seattle in 1963 breaking the news about the Kennedy assassination. With word of Mr. Johnson's passing, we went back into the archives for this conversation from October 9, 2009. The occasion was his unbelievable 50th anniversary at KOMO Radio and TV in Seattle, which would be officially marked the next day, October 10, 2009.

This interview has been lightly edited. It was conducted for a story I wrote for the old CROSSCUT website, and we cover a lot of ground about Mr. Johnson's career and the people with whom he crossed paths. The audio quality is not great; I have, thankfully, since upgraded the gear I use for recording phone interviews. It was an honor and a privilege to interview Bryan Johnson on the eve of his 50th anniversary at KOMO. We had a lot of laughs, too. RIP.

Link to earlier BONUS EPISODE with Bryan Johnson about covering the assassination of JFK:
https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/bonus-episode-komo-jfk

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

BONUS EPISODE: Interview with the late Bryan Johnson on his 50th Anniv. at KOMO Seattle - Oct. 2009

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Joe Wright, CEO of Replogle Globes, an American manufacturer based near Chicago, Illinois.

Replogle Globes was founded nearly a century ago in Chicago by Luther Replogle. In an era when online mapping dominates daily navigating, the company is considered the world’s largest manufacturer of globes, and most of their products are still made in the United States. Their top-of-the-line model is called "The Diplomat," and many have been owned by prominent people, including American presidents going back as far as Harry Truman. With a retail price in 2025 north of $12,000, Diplomats tend to get passed down to descendants.

We cover all of this and more in this conversation. CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with Joe Wright on Thursday, December 11, 2025.

For more information about Replogle Globes:
https://replogleglobes.com/

To hear the BONUS EPISODE tour of Metsker Maps in Seattle:
https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/bonus-episode-metsker-maps

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

BONUS EPISODE: Replogle Globes CEO Joe Wright on the Past, Present and Future of Globes

News broke on Thursday, December 11, 2025 that the City of Des Moines, WA Hearing Examiner has denied the appeal of a coalition of groups working to halt the demolition of the Masonic Home of Washington. The Masonic Home is a sprawling hotel-like complex built in the 1920s south of Seattle as a retirement home for Freemasons in a park-like setting with a commanding view of Puget Sound. 

Feliks Banel's guests on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY are Lloyd Lytle, a leader of the grassroots group working to prevent demolition of the historic Masonic Home of Washington in Des Moines, Washington, and Chris Moore, executive director of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. Both Lytle and Moore react to today's news, and talk about what comes next.

Lytle’s group is called Citizens for the Protection of Des Moines Historic Resources. They formed a coalition with Des Moines Historical Society and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and filed an appeal of the demolition permit issued in August 2025 by the City of Des Moines to property owner Zenith LLC. CASCADE OF HISTORY previously reached out to two different companies associated with Zenith LLC to request an interview; we have never heard back.

GoFundMe to Help Retire the Debt of Legal Fees from Lloyd Lytle's Group:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-masonic-home-of-des-moines-support-our-appeal

LIVE BROADCAST from the street in front of the Masonic Home on September 14, 2025
https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-119

Background via the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation's List of Most Endangered Places
https://preservewa.org/most_endangered/masonic-home-washington/

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station is located at historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms.

BONUS EPISODE: Hearing Examiner Denies Appeal of Masonic Home of WA Demolition Permit

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, we dig into the archives for an interview with the late Stuart McLean, host of “The Vinyl Café” for CBC Radio in Canada.

Feliks Banel interviewed Mr. McLean in the lobby of the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on the afternoon of December 11, 2013. That night, Mr. McLean would present a special holiday touring edition of his radio show to a sold-out theatre packed full of American "Vinyl Café"  fans.

"The Vinyl Café" is a little hard to describe for those who have never heard it. As part of each broadcast, Stuart McLean would tell long and often humorous stories about a man named Dave who owns the world’s smallest "reh-cord" store (and that’s how the word is pronounced in parts of Canada). Dave’s wife is Morley, and their kids are Sam and Stephanie. Along with the storytelling, "The Vinyl Café" often featured music by Canadian bands.

The audio is from the “field tape” or raw recording of an interview shot on video as part of a feature for a local public TV station in Seattle. It’s been lightly edited – and the audio quality of the off-mic portion – of Feliks nervously asking questions – is not that great.

Stuart McLean passed away in 2017 at age 68.

More information about The Vinyl Café
https://vinylcafe.com/

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

BONUS EPISODE: "Vinyl Café" Host Stuart McLean Interview from Seattle in December 2013

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Jessica Stoller of the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce on how the Christmas capital of the Northwest is bouncing back from last week’s storms and how you can help; Maggie Cogswell of the Washington State Archives on efforts to digitize historic images and how you can help identify people and places pictured; Ken Johnsen of Yakima Valley Trolleys with an update on an impasse with the City of Yakima about delays in renewing his group’s operating agreement with the city; plus vintage audio of Jack Morton’s nautical-tinged “Night Before Christmas”; and vintage KING 5 News audio - and your memories! - from the Big Snow of December 18, 1990.

More info about visiting and/or supporting Leavenworth, WA:
https://leavenworth.org/

More info about the Washington State Archives:
https://digitalarchives.wa.gov/

More info about the Yakima Valley Trolleys:
https://www.yakimavalleytrolleys.org/

More info about the live broadcast coming up on Mon, Dec 15 of “We Hold These Truths”:
https://townhallseattle.org/event/we-hold-these-truths/

Links to more information about most topics discussed on the show are available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/cascadeofhistory

This LIVE broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was originally presented at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, December 14, 2025 via SPACE 101.1 FM and gallantly streaming live via www.space101fm.org from historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

Ep. 129: Update from Leavenworth post-storm; How you can help Washington State Archives identify images; Yakima Valley Trolleys threatened by city inaction; Vintage audio of Jack Morton's Night Before Christmas; Big Snow of December 1990

CASCADE OF HISTORY is the only LIVE radio show presenting news and stories about people doing cool things with and for history in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. We talk about people, artifacts, books, maps, photos, places, landmarks, public lands, state and national parks, trails, highways, and the historic events that can bring us all together.

The show is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time on SPACE 101.1 FM (and streaming via http://www.space101fm.org ) from studios located on the shores of Lake Washington in historic Magnuson Park in Seattle, former site of Sand Point Naval Air Station (though sometimes CASCADE OF HISTORY originates from remote locations around the region). The podcast feed consists of the weekly broadcast, plus frequent bonus episodes with timely and topical interviews, vintage local audio or other Pacific Northwest history-related content - and sometimes even BREAKING NEWS.

Producer and host Feliks Banel is an Emmy-winning and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning broadcaster, and former deputy director of Seattle's Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI).

Send your questions, comments, guest suggestions, news tips and other correspondence to cascadeofhistory@gmail.com.

BONUS EPISODE: Tour of Former Immigration Bldg in Seattle and Preview of INSCAPE Open Studios on Sat., Dec. 6, 2025

Cascade of History