December 25, 2011

0082 UNITED STATES (Washington) – The gateway to Alaska

 

I don't think that I'm the only one for whom Seattle remained forever linked with the grunge. So much touched me the movement in the early '90s, that in 1996 (two years after Cobain's death, because I didn't want to take advantage of it) I wrote a biography of the phenomenon, Nirvana Spirit, which I have edited by myself. Nothing surprising, because the movement was the most important since the punk era and furthermore it came to me, as Romanian, amid a newly gained freedom after 1989.

State capital is Olympia, but the largest city is Seattle, which it was developed due to its perfect location. The Port of Seattle, which also operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, is a major gateway for trade with Asia and cruises to Alaska. Sea-Tac Airport is actually the primary hub for Alaska Airlines, and in 2010 served over 31.5 million passengers. It was constructed by the Port of Seattle in 1944 to serve civilians, after the U.S. military took control of Boeing Field for use in WWII. Commercial use of the Sea-Tac began in 1947, and two years later the word "international" was added to the airport's name. After the death of Senator Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson in 1983, the name of the airport was changed in Henry M. Jackson International Airport.

The airport has a Central Terminal building (designed by Curtis W. Fentress), two Satellite Terminals (North and South), and three parallel runways. In 2007, Sea-Tac became the first airport which implemented an avian radar system providing 24-hour monitoring of wildlife activity across the airfield. The postcard is interesting because it contains two images of the airport at different times, first, black and white, from the inauguration of the international airport (July 1949) and the second from nowadays.

About the stamp, which shows The Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming), I wrote here.

Sender: Nita / pinaysawa76 (walltype)
Sent from Everett (Whashington / United States), on 18.11.2011
Photo: Kyle S. Smith

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