Seattle, Washington

1889 Great Seattle Fire: A cabinet shop fire destroyed 25 blocks of downtown. Seattle rebuilt in brick and stone, raising streets one to two stories and creating the underground tunnels that still exist.

1916 Boeing Founded: William Boeing founded his airplane company on Lake Union. Boeing grew into the world's largest aerospace company and Seattle's dominant employer for decades.

1994 Amazon Founded: Jeff Bezos founded Amazon as an online bookstore, eventually building one of the world's most valuable companies and transforming Seattle's economy and skyline.

1962 World's Fair: The Century 21 Exposition drew 10 million visitors and produced the Space Needle, Monorail, and Seattle Center, putting the city on the international stage.

1991 Grunge Music Revolution: Nirvana's 'Nevermind' and Pearl Jam's 'Ten' went global, making grunge the dominant rock genre and defining a generation.

1919 Seattle General Strike: Over 65,000 workers walked off the job in America's first citywide general strike, terrifying the nation during the Red Scare.

1897 Klondike Gold Rush: A steamship arrived carrying Klondike gold, making Seattle the outfitting point for prospectors and transforming it from a lumber town into a major city.

1971 First Starbucks Opens: The first Starbucks at Pike Place Market began selling coffee beans, growing into the world's largest coffeehouse chain.

2001 Nisqually Earthquake: A 6.8 magnitude earthquake caused $2 billion in damage, reminding Seattle of its seismic vulnerability.

1999 WTO Protests: Tens of thousands disrupted the World Trade Organization meeting, forcing cancellation of the opening ceremony in the landmark 'Battle of Seattle.'.