EMP is a leading-edge, nonprofit museum, dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary popular culture. With its roots in rock ‘n’ roll, EMP serves as a gateway museum, reaching multigenerational audiences through our collections, exhibitions, and educational programs, using interactive technologies to engage and empower our visitors. At EMP, artists, audiences and ideas converge, bringing understanding, interpretation, and scholarship to the popular culture of our time.

Source:  EMP website

Mission Statement
The Museum of Flight exists to acquire, preserve, and exhibit historically significant air and space artifacts, which provide a foundation for scholarly research, and lifelong learning programs that inspire an interest in and understanding of science, technology, and the humanities.

History:

In 1964 a small group of aviation enthusiasts realized that important artifacts representing the evolution of flight were being lost or destroyed at an incredible rate. To aid in the preservation of these artifacts, the Pacific Northwest Aviation Historical Foundation was established with the twin goals of saving significant aircraft and related artifacts and educating the public in terms of their importance.

Source:  Museum of Flight website

This month Air Van Moving is shining a Spotlight on Seattle.  We are a North American Van Line Agent and they have named Seattle the city of the month.  The Seattle Space Needle is a standout tourist stop and has a long history in the city.

The 605-foot tall Space Needle was completed in December 1961 and officially opened a mere four months later on the first day of the World’s Fair, April 21, 1962.

The Space Needle was built for just $4.5 million, and has had its share of milestones, including numerous weddings and a jump by six parachutists. During the World’s Fair, nearly 20,000 people a day traveled to the top. The Space Needle hosted over 2.3 million visitors during the Fair and is still, over 40 years later, Seattle’s number one tourist destination.

In 2000, the Space Needle completed a $20 million revitalization. The year-long project included construction of the Pavilion Level, SpaceBase retail store, SkyCity restaurant, O Deck overhaul, exterior lighting additions, Legacy Light installations, exterior painting and more.

Source:  The Space Needle News website

This month Air Van Moving is shining a Spotlight on Seattle.  We are a North American Van Line Agent and they have named Seattle the city of the month.  Whether by land or by sea Ride the Ducks will show the best of Seattle!

History of the DUKW
The DUKW (or as we like to call them ‘Ducks’) was an amphibious landing craft developed by the United States Army during World War II. It was designed to deliver cargo from ships at sea directly to the shore. The DUKW (D-built in 1942, U-amphibious 2€ ton truck, K-front wheel drive, W-rear wheel drive) was equipped with a hull pump that could move 260 gallons of water a minute! It also came with a hand pump that could move 50 gallons a minute. It could climb a 60% grade and broach an 18-inch high obstacle. It had a range of 220 miles on land and 50 miles in water. It could carry a cargo load of 5,350 lbs., and hold 25 fully equipped troops.

A bizarre tradition has turned into a fascinating yet very germ-filled attraction: a giant wall of gum.  It sounds strange but has become a huge tourist attraction for all who visit Seattle.

Per their Facebook page, here is the history of the gum wall:

The wall began more respectably. Early 20th century farmers coming to the Market to sell produce shelters their horses in the stable located in the Economy Building. Later the building housed a movie theater.

Established improv theater company, Unexpected Productions, began leasing the building 1991. Soon after, a patron waiting in the ticket line to see Theatresports, a popular competition improv comedy show (still running today), stuck a piece of chewed gum to the wall, topping it with a penny. Others followed suit. By the end of 1995, the wall was covered with coin-topped chewed gum offering. One day, someone in need of money to all the coins, but left the gum. The idea stuck.

The landlord – Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA) was offend that theatergoers would deface the historic brick building and asked Unexpected Productions to remove the gum. The gum quickly returned, and the PDA asked that the wall be again be scraped clean. 1998, after patrons reconstructed the wall a third time, the Market finally gave up as the tradition was in full swing. The wall continues to grow and evolve. Much like an improv performance, it is different every single day.

Since the gum wall’s inception there have been reports of walls of gum created in various communities across the United States. However, none of them has gained the fame (actually infamy) of the Gum Wall in Pike Place Market

Creators of the gum wall have taken their time, spelling out their name or their significant other’s name along the wall. Others have posted their hometown or their home country. And a few have even put up messages of hope and peace.

Seattleites use the gum wall in a variety of ways, even as an unusual backdrop for wedding photos, something the theater staff sees about twice a month. Photographs of the wall also have graced business brochures. Tour groups visiting the Market stop daily to see it.

Pike Place Market is the place to visit when you come to Seattle.  It has the freshest produce and seafood and so much more.  It is an experience that you can’t miss!!  If you are lucky…they will throw you a fish!

Pike Place Market is the city’s center for fresh, locally produced food. Established in 1907 to connect citizens and farmers, the Market continues its “Meet the Producer” tradition with a year-round farmers market and locally owned bakeries, seafood, dairy and butcher shops. A nine-acre historic district, the Market features one of the largest craft markets in the country, featuring local, handcrafted goods. The Market is home to more than 200 independent small businesses.

Seattle has so much to offer, especially at the Seattle aquarium.  The latest addition to the aquarium is the mammoth, 120,000-gallon exhibit greets you as you take your first steps into the Seattle Aquarium. It is filled with more than 800 fish and invertebrates indigenous to the Pacific Northwest’s local waters, it is designed to replicate the seascape around Neah Bay, a richly populated marine environment located at the northwest tip of Washington State.

The viewing window is 20×40 feet that allows for a real-life glimpse of life under the surface of Puget Sound.

The latest addition to our great city is the Seattle Great Wheel.  Located on the Seattle waterfront

Here are some fun facts about the Seattle Great Wheel:

• The Seattle Great Wheel is the largest observation wheel on the west coast, standing 175 feet tall.

• The wheel has 42 fully-enclosed gondolas. Each gondola seats up to eight people, meaning the wheel can hold over 300 passengers at any given time.

• The wheel was manufactured in various parts of Europe and the United States, and assembled right at the end of the pier.

• The wheel extends nearly 40 feet beyond the end of the pier, over Elliott Bay.

• The Seattle Great Wheel is open year round. With fully-enclosed gondolas and a covered waiting area, the rain can’t stop the wheel from spinning!

• The Wheel weighs 280,300 pounds.

• 550 tons of concrete were poured to create the foundation for the wheel.

Air Van is the Official Mover for the following:

The University of Washington Athletics

The University of  Washington Alumni Association

Boise State Athletics

The Boise State Alumni Association

Items you can include in Your University of Washington Starter Kit:

Items you can include in Your Boise State Starter Kit:

Know your rights

Ask for the three “pre-move” documents from your carrier.  

Documents include:

• “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move”
• “Ready to Move” brochures
• Information on the arbitration program that the mover participates in. 

Originally published on the ProMover.org site