Issaquah History Museums

Happy 30th Birthday to the Issaquah Community Center! 🎂🎉🏀

What began with a vision and fundraising—close to 35 years ago—became a reality when the new Community Center opened its doors on June 3, 1996. Issaquah's youth quickly flocked to their new hangout, complete with volleyball and basketball courts, a running track, weight room, aerobics center, and game room stocked with a pool table, ping pong, and foosball—all donated by generous community members.

Special teen nights featured music, open gym time, food, and more, all for just $2 admission. Other events ranged from dances and tournaments to roller derbies and band nights. And amid all the excitement, staff were already looking ahead, planning to open a preschool that fall.

The official ribbon-cutting was held on June 15, 1996. What launched with so much fanfare thirty years ago this month is still going strong today.

Thank you, ICC, for all that you do for our community—from youth to seniors!

[Issaquah Press: 6/5/1996 - Gymnasium, 6/12/1996 - foosball; Preschool class c.1996 / IHM: 2013.003.6520.003; ICC fundraising c.1985 / IHM: 2013.003.2852]

Just a few tickets still available... and we think they might be YOURS!

Issaquah on Tap is back—the walking tour that mixes local lore with local pours. We’re serving up a spirited walk through Issaquah’s past: logging, mining, saloons, and colorful characters who shaped this town.

We’ll kick things off at the historic Train Depot, then make our way through downtown with storytelling, bites, and beverages at each venue stop—the Rollin Log, Stan’s Bar-B-Q, and El 42 Cantina—before wrapping up at the Hailstone Feed Store (Historic Shell Station).

Grab your friends. Hit the stops. Hear the stories right where they happened.

Tue, June 9 • 6:00-8:00 PM
$65 per person
Tickets: https://www.issaquahhistorymuseums.com/event-details/issaquah-on-tap-a-spirited-walk-through-history-2

This walking event (with ADA-accessible accommodations) is brought to you by the Downtown Issaquah Association and Issaquah History Museums. Ages 21+ only.

By 1947, Hepler Motors was 28 years old and automobiles were no longer just for the wealthy. But in 1920—when most were only dreaming—Lee Hepler tried to accommodate them by taking horses, chickens, cattle, and even geese and ducks as trade-ins. In an interview for the Issaquah Press in 1979, Lee laughed recalling "When my salesman wasn't selling cars, it was ducks and geese!"

In that article, Lee pointed out that you didn't just sell a car, you had to teach them how to drive as well and explain to the new owners that they were working with a machine that had to be mastered. He sold his first Model T for $365 to a valley farmer.

Lee Helper went all out for the company's 28th birthday—offering free gifts for children accompanied by their parents and a free lubrication job to every car (any model) whose owner registered at the door. Known for his celebratory events, Ford's new 1947 models were also introduced: a convertible V-8 coupe, six cylinder sedan coupe, a V-8 Tudor Sedan, and a V-8 truck. Floral displays and banners that read: "There's a finer Ford in your future," "Liveliest Performance," and "Tw-Tone Interior" were all part of the fanfare.

Hepler Motor Company opened on the southeast corner of Front Street and Sunset Way (current home of the Shell Station) in 1919 and continued to grow until an earthquake damaged the building in the mid-1950s.

[Hepler Motors 28th gala birthday party with Lee Hepler in the center between the cars, May 23, 1947 / IHM: 2004.011.076]