The great State of Washington turns 121 years-old today. Above, an Asahel Curtis photograph taken in 1889, the year we achieved statehood, depicting the Griffith Davies book store on 1st Avenue between Cherry and Columbia Streets just before the great Seattle fire. As everyone knows, Washington went on to become the best state in the Union, trailed closely by (in approximate order) New York, California, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, West Virginia, Vermont, Minnesota, Montana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Canada. Honorable mention but I have not been there: Alabama and Louisiana.

Happy Birthday, Washington!

Photo courtesy of the UW Digital Archives.