- Musca (Latin for ‘“the fly”’) is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. It was one of 12 constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, and it first appeared on a celestial globe 35 cm (14 in) in diameter published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius. The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria of 1603. It was also known as Apis (Latin for ‘“the bee”’) for 200 years. Musca remains below the horizon for most Northern Hemisphere observers.
- Seattle Neighborhoods: Columbia City — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
Columbia City, a historic neighborhood in southeast Seattle, began as a townsite developed by promoter J. K. Edmiston, who built an electric rail line from downtown Seattle through the Rainier Valley along the route now followed by Rainier Avenue. It was incorporated as an independent town in 1893 and was annexed into Seattle in 1907. Manufacturers such as the Hitt Fireworks Company and Heater Glove Company sustained the local economy until World War II, when the neighborhood became home to defense workers and Hitt Fireworks switched to military production. Columbia City saw declines in the post-war years, reaching a nadir in the late 1970s when crime was a major concern and many storefronts were empty. In subsequent decades, a combination of public and private efforts helped revitalize the area. The local business community won Landmark District status for Columbia City in 1978, helping to preserve the neighborhood’s historic ambience. Once-empty storefronts have become restaurants, offices, an art gallery, and other businesses.
