KISW - Celebrating 40 Years of Rock

Seattle Holds Goodwill Games

Year: 1990

Seattle held the second annual Goodwill Games in 1990. Due to the size of the Games, some events had to be held at other locations in neighboring cities and Seattle suburbs. The games opening ceremony was at Husky stadium with a speech from former President Ronald Regan. The US won 60 gold medals, and a total of 161 medals overall.

Seattle Hempfest Founded

Year: 1991

Originally founded as the Washington Hemp Expo, Hempfest began as a 'gathering of stoners' with the goal of educating people about and advocating for the decriminalization of Marijuana. The first event brought in a mere 500 self proclaimed stoners. Today the event brings in over 250,000 with its 2 day event.

Hit T.V Series Frasier Premieres

Year: 1993

Frasier was created as a spin-off series from the famous T.V. show Cheers. Set in Seattle, it is said to be one of the best spin-off series in T.V. history. Frasier moved back to Seattle from Boston as seen in Cheers, to live with his retired father, and housekeeper Daphne. The show also featured David Hyde Pierce as Frasier's neurotic brother, Niles.

Gumwall Started

Year: 1993

Seattle's Gumwall has been a tourist attraction, and Seattle icon for almost 20 years. Beginning in 1993 members of a Theatre group that performed at the Market Theater, which is the building behind all the gum, started sticking their gum to the wall and putting coins on top to stick the coins to the wall. After a few attempts from Theater owners to scrape off the gum, they eventually gave up and the tradition of the gum wall was born.

Amazon.com is Founded

Year: 1994

Named after the worlds largest river, the company originally started out as an online bookstore in 1994, in Seattle. The company then set its sights on other ventures, and by 2000 was quickly becoming on the top websites in the U.S. for online shopping. The mega-site is now the largest online retailer in the U.S.

Magic World Championships

Year: 1995

The second annual Magic: The Gathering World Championships were held in Seattle on August 4-6, 1995. Seattle would continue to be the venue for the Worlds until 1999. The game featured 71 players from 19 different countries and five rounds of play each day. Nerds paradise!

First Gameworks Opens

Year: 1997

The first Gameworks to be built was the Downtown Seattle location . The chain began as a joint venture between Sega, Universal Studios, and Dreamworks SKG, and is now owned only by SEGA Entertainment USA, Inc. In addition to games, Gameworks also boasts food and drinks as well. The atmosphere can be fun for the kid of any age.

Real World Seattle

Year: 1998

The cast of the Real World Seattle lived on Pier 70 on Seattle's Elliot Bay waterfront. The show features seven strangers chosen to live together and have it all taped while they go about day to day life in a new town, environment, and with new people. The show continues to have various locales today. The Seattle cast also worked as 'Modulators' for our sister station KNDD The End, and would end up producing and hosting their own show.

WTO Riots

Year: 1999

An angry crowd of over 40,000 protestors mobbed the streets of Seattle on November 30th 1999. The WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 came to a screeching halt when protestors began rioting outside the Seattle convention Center. Due to the increase of violence shown by the protestors, Seattle police fought back by spraying pepper spray and arresting many of those protesting. Over 600 hundred people would be arrested in contact with the riots. The riots are also infamously referred to as the Battle in Seattle.