Originally published October 12, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified October 12, 2008 at 7:25 AM
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Toppenish wears its history well
A trip to Toppenish, billed as a place "Where the West still lives," can mix outdoor fun and local history. The town is best known for its...
Tri-City Herald and Seattle Times Travel staff
Other Toppenish sights
There's much to see around Toppenish beyond the murals. A sampling:
• The Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center showcases the past and present of the Yakama; the vast 1.2 million-acre Yakama Indian Reservation edges Toppenish. Besides the museum, there's also a restaurant and gift shop. 509-865-2800 or www.yakamamuseum.com
• The Northern Pacific Railway Museum is housed in the town's 1911 train depot and preserves the rail history of the area. The museum is open until Oct. 31 then closes for the winter (except for some special events). For Halloween, the depot and train cars are decorated in scary style. At Christmas the depot features toy trains and a short ride in a real caboose to see Santa. 509- 865-1911 or www.nprymuseum.org
• The American Hop Museum celebrates the Yakima Valley's role as one of the biggest hop producers in the world. The museum has closed for the winter (it will reopen May 1), but tours can be scheduled in the offseason. 509-865-4677 or www.americanhopmuseum.org
• The Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge, 2,000 acres of protected wetlands and grasslands and an important haven for wildlife, including migratory birds. It's about 6 miles south of Toppenish on Highway 97. 509-546-8300 or www.fws.gov/Refuges/
• Yakama Nation Legends Casino, just outside of town, offers more than 1,200 slot machines, roulette, poker and more. 877-726-6311 or www.yakamalegends.com
If you go
Toppenish
Toppenish is about 160 miles east of Seattle. For more information, contact theToppenish Chamber of Commerce at www.toppenish.net or 800-863-6375.
A trip to Toppenish, billed as a place "Where the West still lives," can mix outdoor fun and local history.
The town is best known for its large murals — there are about 70 — painted on the exterior of buildings in the Yakima Valley town.
"In 1989, the state of Washington wanted to do something to celebrate the centennial and [in Toppenish] the first historically painted mural was painted in one day," said Effie Burton, a volunteer at the Toppenish Chamber of Commerce and Toppenish Mural Society.
Clearing the Land, a 14-by-40-foot mural, was painted in 1989, by about a dozen artists. The mural shows a settler using a horse to clear sagebrush and a woman in the distance tending to a pile of burning brush.
The first mural-in-a-day was "done as much as a stunt to see if it could be done," Burton said.
It was such a success that it started a tradition. Each year, on the first day of June, a mural goes up in Toppenish and is completed in one day. "It really is incredible" to watch, Burton said. "That's when you come to Toppenish to watch paint dry."
Other murals have been painted in a more relaxed fashion over time. All are privately funded and painted by professional artists. They have to be approved by the Mural Society for historical accuracy and quality, Burton said.
"They're from the 1850-1950 era" and are images of "things that either actually were here or what might have been here," she said.
The Yakima Valley Visitor Guide includes a map of Toppenish that shows all the mural locations around town. The guide can be picked up at the Toppenish Mural Society office, 5A S. Toppenish Ave.
Visitors can take a self-guided walking tour of the murals (or in spring and summer a guided tour in a horse-drawn wagon is offered by Toppenish Mural Tours).
Those needing to refuel can stop downtown at Gibbon's Soda Fountain. The old-fashioned soda shop features everything from cream sodas and root beer to burgers and onion rings. Then browse the small shops of downtown Toppenish.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
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