Bill Speidel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bill Speidel (b.1912-d.1988) was a columnist for The Seattle Times who wrote the books Sons of the Profits (ISBN 0-914890-06-9) and Doc Maynard, The Man Who Invented Seattle (ISBN 0-914890-02-6) about the people who settled and built Seattle, Washington.
Speidel is also credited with being one of the leaders of the movement to preserve and restore Pioneer Square, one of Seattle's oldest neighborhoods. By the 1960s, this area was run down and in disrepair, in danger of being demolished and rebuilt. Through the efforts of many people, Pioneer Square is once again a bustling center of activity and tourism with dozens of original buildings that have been restored to their original lustre.
In 1964, Speidel received and printed a letter from a reader asking about the underground areas of Pioneer Square. He replied via the paper that he did not know much about it, but that he would research it and get back to her. Once he did the research, he printed a response telling her to meet him at 3 p.m. the next Saturday in Pioneer Square, and he would take her on a tour of the underground and what he had found.
The reader did show up, along with over 300 other people. Speidel quickly took up a collection of $1 from each of the visitors and proceeded on the first tour of the Seattle Underground.
