.Skid Road, Murray Morgan's seminal history of Seattle, was first published on this day in 1951 — the 100th anniversary of the Denny party's landing at Alki Point*, which signifies the beginning of the city.Murray Morgan (right) and friends in Pioneer Square.
Photo by the great Mary Randlett, via History Link.

The title Skid Road refers to Yesler Way, where logs were skidded down to the waterfront. As it somewhat is today, Yesler also represented a border between neighborhoods and all the political implications that go along with that; it's too much to go into here, but suffice it to say that it makes for an interesting story, and Skid Road tells it well. Pick it up for next to nothing at your local used book store or through abebooks.com.

*Historical side note: Alki, which means "by and by" in Chinook jargon, was originally named "New York" by its founder, Charles Terry.