Have you ever wondered what your house used to look like when it was brand-spankin’ new? Wouldn’t it be über hip to have a vintage photograph of your beautiful home hung up above the fireplace? Well, lucky for you who answered yes to those questions, if your house was built before 1930, there very well might be a photo of it stuck somewhere deep in the Washington State Archives that you can order!

To order your own copy of the historic photos in the Seattle area, the best people to contact are the archivists at the Puget Sound Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives. You’ll need a few key points of information, but with a quick dive into your own files and maybe a little help form us Divas, we can get you a vintage print of your home in a jiff. Just send an email to the archivists at PSBranchArchives@sos.wa.gov with the following information and start the process now!

What you will need:
1. Property Address
2. Tax Parcel Number (you can find this in your Title Report)
3. Legal Description (at least the lot/block – you can find this on your Title Report)
4. Your Name and Contact Info

Remember that momentous bundle of dead trees that you got when you closed on your home and then hid away thinking all that legal jargon would never come in handy again? Well, dig it back out because the Tax Parcel Number and the Legal Description that you will need to request your photo can be found on the Title Report that you received when buying your home. If it’s been awhile since you bought your home and you seem to have misplaced your Title Report, you can either contact Rainier Title Company, us here at Team Diva, or you can try to use the King County Property Research Maps to get the info you need.