41 years of the Seattle Gay News — including page after page telling the stories of the places and the people of Capitol Hill — have been digitized and are now available online from the Washington State Library.

“Historians, genealogists, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about local perspectives on world events now have greater access to their area’s rich history,” Shawn Schollmeyer, Washington Digital Newspapers coordinator at the Washington State Library, said in the announcement. “We are grateful for our many partnerships with museums, libraries, archives, and publishers statewide that share our commitment to preserving our communities’ cultural heritage.”

A Capitol Hill story from 1979

The first 1,745 issues of the Seattle Gay News were scanned and uploaded in a project involving the Seattle City Archives, University of Washington, The Seattle Public Library, the Museum of History and Industry and former SGN editor Rick McKinnon. More issues will follow to fill in some of the historical gaps.

CHS reported in 2021 on the efforts to preserve SGN’s historical record and reshape the newspaper for the future after the death of publisher George Bakan.

Digging through SGN’s online archives is an exploration of history — and the day to day. Advertisements for Seattle and Capitol Hill businesses and events dot the pages mixed amid stories documenting everything from the fight for gay marriage to movie reviews. And, yes, the historical record includes SGN’s typos, too.

Let us know what you find.

You can search the Washington Digital Newspapers project and SGN archives at washingtondigitalnewspapers.org.

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