Ticket sales start today for Southwest Seattle Historical Society tour @ Gatewood house where REI began

(King County Assessor photo)

That’s the Gatewood house where REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) was founded in Gatewood, 80 years ago. On the afternoon of Sunday, August 5, it will be the site of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s annual “If These Walls Could Talk” home tour. Ticket sales will begin at noon today, the SWSHS says. You’ll have two options – the basic tour, or tour plus a VIP reception and talk – as explained on this page, which is also where ticket sales will be activated at noon. As SWSHS summarizes what happened in the house:

It all started with a $15 ice axe — In 1935 Mountaineers Club member Lloyd Anderson purchased an ice axe from an importer in the United States. The axe was at the same time very expensive for that time-period, and also was poorly made. When the axe broke it set Lloyd on a mission that would lead to the formation of a co-op for the Mountaineers that would eventually become REI.

Guest speaker for the VIP event, noon-2 pm, is Bobby Whittaker, son of Jim Whittaker; the SWSHS says he “will be talking about growing up in a climbing family, and his early memories of hanging out at Capitol Hill store location at the time when his father Jim was involved in the operations of REI” as well as showing clips from “Return to Mount Kennedy,” which we reported on in May.

7 Replies to "Ticket sales start today for Southwest Seattle Historical Society tour @ Gatewood house where REI began"

  • KD July 23, 2018 (12:56 pm)

    I’ve often wondered where the house on Beacon Hill that Jeff Bezos and his wife literally started Amazon out of their garage is. (Just books at first, but Amazon being ‘beyond’ worldwide reach.. it’s just fantastic amazing wonderment!). I wonder if the house is still there, if current owners even know. (Probably, with tax records). I often tell customers that it all started up there (pointing to Beacon Hill) in their garage, and now that richest man in the world still lives in the Seattle area!!

  • zephyr July 23, 2018 (6:27 pm)

    Hi, there,I have tried 3-4 times to buy the public tour
    tickets.  It keeps sending me back.  Are they sold out? Thanks. It seems
    early to sell out–must be a high demand.  I have been a member so very
    long, I would really like to go.  The VIP tour is a little high for
    me.  :(

    • Jeff McCord July 23, 2018 (7:57 pm)

      Hello, this is Jeff McCord from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Thank you so much for your interest in the REI house tour! Sorry you’ve experienced some technical issues about purchasing a ticket for the public tour. The WSB alerted us (thank you Tracy) and let us know that some technical issues were reported.Please feel free to email be directly so we can try and figure out what may be going on. We tested the system before posting, but it sounds like it might not work in all cases, so if you end up being able to reach out to me you could be helping us out a lot! My direct email is: director@loghousemuseum.org Thanks again for your interest in our 2018 “If These Walls Could Talk” REI house tour. We hope to see you on August 5, 2018. Sincerely,Jeff McCord, Executive DirectorSouthwest Seattle Historical Society

  • Maris July 23, 2018 (7:27 pm)

    I tried getting a tour ticket at around noon and it came back with a message that said the item I choose was not available. I worked for REI as a store designer for eight years and really hoped to see where it all began.

    • WSB July 23, 2018 (7:30 pm)

      I’ll check with Jeff at the Historical Society to see if maybe they were having a technical problem.

    • Jeff McCord July 23, 2018 (8:23 pm)

      Thanks Maris, Sorry about the tech issues. I just tried removing any ticket limits to see if that makes it work? If you end up trying again please let me know if it works this time by emailing me directly at: director@loghousemuseum.org — thanks for your patience! — Jeff

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