Yakima full of surprises
Yakima is a major player in south central Washington, with an abundance of winter pears, hops and other crops grown on nearby farms and orchards.
Driving many times along Interstate 82, I could never see much of Yakima as it stretches westward across the flat valley floor away from the Yakima River. Despite the river’s presence, the landscape looks dry with smooth, brown hills surrounding the valley.
Irrigation made things start to happen in Yakima and the population tripled in the first two decades of the 20th century. The importance of bringing water to the valley is echoed in the architecture of the Yakima Valley Museum, with sloped lines descending on the roof’s south side.
The facility has exhibits you might expect in a Western museum. It houses a large collection of wooden wagons and Native American artifacts of baskets, projectile points and tools.
But what makes the Yakima Valley Museum different is what makes the city of Yakima different: the unexpected.
From the bright, colorful lights of the museum’s Neon Garden to old bottles of “Mad Dog” 20/20 pulled from the walls of a local saloon during renovation (now proudly displayed behind the bar), Yakima is an oasis of history and culture with surprising details that made our trip there charming and whimsical.
A blue sky spread over the city as we drove along First Street. We had taken the exit for Union Gap due to a navigational misunderstanding. (I thought we were already at Yakima; husband John knew better but took the exit anyway, thinking I knew where I was going.)
Union Gap used to be Yakima, in a way. It was referred to as Yakima City in the early 1880s when a railroad planned through the valley was due to pass the town’s way – or so it thought.
However, Northern Pacific chose to put its station four miles north, claiming a swamp in Yakima City made for poor railroad building. (Real estate profits probably provided the incentive for the railroad to launch its own start-up town.)
The population of Yakima City plummeted as merchants and businessmen lured by the railroad company’s promotional deals relocated to the newly created North Yakima. Names changed and settled into today’s arrangement in 1918: Yakima city returned to being called Union Gap and booming North Yakima became just Yakima.
When we arrived at the Yakima Valley Museum, John walked our dog Kah-less around Franklin Park before we settled him into the Subaru for a nap while we checked out the exhibits.
A large sign hangs off the corner of the building advertising the museum’s snack bar, a 1930s-style soda shop. The Museum Soda Fountain is a living exhibit that puts to use original equipment donated from a local business. Soda jerks in crisp hats serve up root-beer floats and other old-fashioned treats.
It was too early for ice cream, so John and I entered the museum via the main entrance. Bright sunlight streamed into the long corridor that leads to the exhibits.
The main exhibit gallery has two levels connected by a staircase. Flashing and moving neon drew my attention upward to the Neon Garden. The wheel of a bicycle spins on the Yakima Bicycle Shop sign, and the fingers of a woman fly up and down on another sign advertising a commercial typing service.
I’m not much for neon signs and usually find them to be, well, tacky. The sameness created by national chains in the area of neon art has made most neon designs blend into one glaring jungle. Yet the signs collected by the museum are distinctive and interesting pieces of Yakima’s past.
The cost of maintaining elaborate older signs led to their removal from some Yakima businesses, according to museum information. In 1996, the museum decided to start acquiring neon signs to preserve parts of Yakima’s visual identity.
I also found the prototype of the first Baby Jogger to be an interesting object among the museum’s more recent acquisitions. This recreational stroller was built in 1983 by a dad who wanted to run and be with his baby boy at the same time. The Yakima company that manufactured the Baby Jogger was bought out by a Virginia-based business in 2004.
On the day we visited the museum, the installation of a new exhibit was under way. “Cedar Spirits: Masks of the Northwest Coast” presents masks and carvings of the Kwak’wala-speaking people.
A former colleague of mine who works for the museum gave John and me a quick behind-the-scenes look at the masks. “Cedar Spirits,” on loan from a private collector, is on display through May 30.
In an adjacent space, “Treasures from Around the World” contains souvenirs collected by Yakima Valley residents on their travels to places such as China, Japan and New Guinea.
Silk clothing in vibrant shades fills one case. The items were collected during Swedish-born Nathanial Gothberg’s time as a missionary in Northern China from 1905 to 1910. He and his wife Elizabeth later settled in Yakima and grew fruit.
Spoons, seashell boats and big game trophies are among the other items in the exhibit. While this eclectic mix may not depict the day-to-day lives of the locals, it does demonstrate the personal experiences that influenced the people who call the Yakima Valley home.
After our whirlwind museum tour we were starving. It was 2 p.m. We found this late hour to be a good time for lunch at the Barrel House, a wine bar and restaurant located in the historic district.
The Barrel House was built in 1906 as the Jean Dazet Saloon. With a sly grin, the bartender told us of the establishment’s past as a place for cowboys to get a cold brew and some entertainment upstairs in the brothel.
Names and owners changed over the years, and it operated as the Blue Banjo – a rough bar, by local descriptions – until about three years ago, when the current owners purchased and renovated it.
The Barrel House retains some of the original furnishings, such as the pressed-tin ceiling, the large safe where cowboys stored their guns while visiting the ladies, and the vintage MD 20/20 and beer bottles (some still full) found in the walls during renovation and now displayed on a shelf behind the bar.
The urinal (circa 1911) in the men’s room is also original to the saloon, John informed me when he returned to the table. At about 4 feet wide, the Barrel House owners believe it to be the largest urinal in the state of Washington. (I have no way of knowing.)
John had an Oregon microbrew, while I chose a Bridgman 2001 Viognier, a Yakima Valley white that complemented my portobello burger with pesto mayo.
We took Kah-less, who waited patiently in the car most of the day, shopping at a major pet-store chain (also located in the historic district). Then we all finished the day off with a walk on the Yakima Greenway that parallels the Yakima River and watched the sun set in the golden western sky.