Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Virginia K. Gunby papers, 1957-2014
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Gunby, Virginia K.
- Title
- Virginia K. Gunby papers
- Dates
- 1957-2014 (inclusive)19572014
- Quantity
- 1.92 cubic feet (2 boxes)
- Collection Number
- 6283 (Accession No. 6283-001)
- Summary
- Papers of a prominent Seattleite with a primary focus on transportation services throughout the city.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
No restrictions on access.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Virginia K. Gunby has been a prominent civic leader in Seattle. Her focus has been on transportation services. In the 1960’s Gunby was appointed by Governor Dan Evans to the then State Highway Commission. In 1968 Elected Freeholders Lois North and Virginia Gunby helped write the King County Charter that granted home rule to King County. Gunby quickly became known as a civic leader as she was part of many committees such as in the King Country Freeholder and Charter Review Committees in 1971 and 1977.
Virginia Gunby served on the citizen oversight panel from 1997-2004, the panel independently monitors Sound Transit to make sure it meets its commitment to voters. In 2006 Gunby accepted the position of Transportation Committee chair in order to assist her community in opposing a design proposed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) in July 2006 for rebuilding State Route 520.
Virginia and freeway fighter Margaret Tunks were life-long collaborators. A March 1971 press conference promoted their joint position paper, “Transportation Policy, Financing and Administrative Changes: A Transit Agency for the Central Puget Sound Region.” In 1977, they coached incoming mayor-elect Charles Royer through “Transitional Transport Issues” with M. Darland, Prof. Jerry Schneider and David Sprague. In 1978, they partnered with John Boles for a series of statements and presentations on I-90 issues to Mayor Royer and the city council. Once off the highway commission, Virginia became active in 1979-80’s Transit 21 campaign in which Margaret was already working. Virginia was one of Margaret’s editors including Margaret’s last book, Seattle Citizens Against Freeways, Revised Edition.
Anne Rudd, of the Seattle Freeway Revolt Activists sorted and organized Gunby’s papers. As of 2017, Gunby had saved and organized over 200 file boxes as well as many shelf feet of personal and publicly available materials and publications. The collection was reduced to two boxes before being donated. Additionally, one box of records were integrated into the Seattle Freeway Revolt Activists Collection.
[some information provided by Anna Rudd]
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection, narrowly focused on Ms. Gunby’s wide-ranging transportation-related activities and interests, includes personal notes and notations, often written on meeting agendas and handouts, correspondence, newsletters and flyers and some original cut-and-paste newsletter layouts plus articles and news clippings that cite Gunby. Materials are in chronological order, beginning with the earliest. The few exceptions include materials grouped into packets by Virginia which appear to have been (re)assembled to prepare new presentations and position papers on familiar topics. Some like materials which seemed more suited to a single folder than to be spread out based on date of creation have also been grouped together. Papers connected to her non-transportation activities and associations were not included with rare exceptions.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Donated by George C. Gunby
Related Materials
Related material can be found in the following collection: Seattle Freeway Revolt Activists collection
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | List of items not retained | 2019 |
| 1/2 | Organization and Origin | 2019 |
| 1/3 | Biographies and Resumes | 1973-2013 |
| 1/4-6 | Newspaper Clippings | 1968-2004 |
| 1/7 | Lake Washington Bridge Location-Report by Stephen Chadwick | 1957 |
| 1/8 | Notes on Cities in the Motor Age by Wilfred Owen | 1959 |
| 1/9 | Newspaper article, map, and notes on Interstate 5 | 1961 |
| 1/10 | Port of Seattle Study | 1962 |
| 1/11 | Report of the Metropolitan Transportation Committee | 1962 |
| 1/12 | Newspaper article and notes on Matthews Beach boat ramp | 1963 |
| 1/13 | Interview with John Porter of Puget Sound Governmental Conference | 1964 |
| 1/14 | Speech on Metropolitan Problems by Ira Heyman | 1965 |
| 1/15 | Reports on government and transportation in Seattle | 1965 |
| 1/16 | Booklets on King County Charter | 1968 |
| 1/17 | Reports on government and development in the Puget Sound region | 1967 |
| 1/18 | Reports and correspondence on air pollution and highway development | 1968 |
| 1/19 | Correspondence on environmental regulations and public transit | 1969 |
| 1/20 | Correspondence and reports on highway development in Seattle | 1970 |
| 1/21 | Correspondence and articles on highways and transit in Seattle | 1971 |
| 1/22 | Metropolitan Study Commission documents | 1972 |
| 1/23 | Reports on urban planning in Seattle | 1973 |
| 1/24 | Seattle 2000 Commission documents | 1974 |
| 1/25 | Washington State Highway Commission correspondence | 1973 |
| 1/26 | Seattle Freeholder and City Charter Reform | 1974-1975 |
| 1/27-28 | Washington State Highway Commission correspondence | 1974 |
| 1/29 | Alternatives for Washington | 1974-1977 |
| 1/30-31 | Correspondence and speeches on citizen involvement in transportation planning | 1975 |
| 1/32 | Correspondence regarding Interstate 90 construction | 1976 |
| 1/33 | Reports and correspondence on Interstate 90 | 1976-1979 |
| 1/34 | Reports on King County Charter and transportation planning | 1977 |
| 1/35-36 | Charter Review Committee | 1976-1977 |
| 1/37 | Ad Hoc Seattle Transportation Advisory Group | 1977 |
| 1/38 | Correspondence and Reports on Interstate 90 | 1978 |
| 1/39-40 | Washington State Highway Commission Correspondence | 1979 |
| 1/41 | Interstate 90 Policy Review Committee | 1979 |
| 1/42 | Seattle and Washington State Department of Transportation Budgets | 1979 |
| 1/43 | Correspondence regarding appointment to National Highway Commission | 1980 |
| 1/44 | Reports on transit in downtown Seattle | 1981 |
| 1/45 | Correspondence and reports on transportation funding | 1982 |
| 1/46 | Correspondence and reports on Seattle-area transportation projects | 1983 |
| 1/47 | Women's Transportation Seminar speech | 1984 |
| 1/48 | American Public Works Association Conference speech | 1985 |
| 1/49 | Washington State Department of Transportation Conference speeches | 1986 |
| 1/50 | Waterfront Streetcar Extension presentation notes | 1987 |
| 1/51 | "Vote No on Proposition #1"(expanding monorail) promotional mailing and stickers | 2005 |
| 2/1 | Correspondence on transportation in Seattle | 1988 |
| 2/2 | Presentations on transportation in the Puget Sound region | 1989 |
| 2/3 | Speeches on transportation | 1990 |
| 2/4 | Speeches and correspondence on land use in Seattle | 1991 |
| 2/5 | Speeches on public transit in Seattle | 1992 |
| 2/6 | Correspondence on regional transit | 1993 |
| 2/7 | Correspondence on land use in Washington | 1994 |
| 2/8 | Minutes of Puget Sound transit vote meetings | 1995 |
| 2/9 | League of Women Voters King County Governance Study | 1996 |
| 2/10 | 1000 Friends of Washington administrative and promotional materials | 1997 |
| 2/11 | Correspondence on Municipal League Strategic Plan | 1998 |
| 2/12 | Sound Transit Citizen Oversight Panel reports | 1999 |
| 2/13 | Correspondence on Puget Sound transit | 2000 |
| 2/14 | Municipal League of King County correspondence | 2001 |
| 2/15 | Washington State League of Women Voters correspondence and notes | 2002 |
| 2/16 | Regional Transportation Improvement District reports | 2003 |
| 2/17 | Correspondence on the Seattle Monorail | 2004 |
| 2/18 | Correspondence on Sound Transit and the SR 520 Bridge | 2005 |
| 2/19 | Correspondence on the SR 520 Bridge replacement | 2006 |
| 2/20 | Newspaper articles on SR 520 Bridge replacement | 2007 |
| 2/21 | Correspondence from Jorgen Bader on the SR 520 Bridge replacement | 2007-2008 |
| 2/22 | Correspondence with community groups on the SR 520 Bridge replacement | 2008 |
| 2/23 | Correspondence from Jorgen Bader on the SR 520 Bridge replacement | 2012 |
| 2/24 | Correspondence on 35th Avenue NE bike lanes | 2013-2014 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- City planning--Washington (State)--Seattle
- Express highways--Washington (State)
- Local government and environmental policy--Washington (State)--Seattle
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
- Transportation--Washington (State)--Puget Sound
- Transportation--Washington (State)--Seattle
Personal Names
- Bader, Jorgen, 1938---Correspondence
- Gunby, Virginia K., 1931---Archives
Corporate Names
- 1000 Friends of Washington--Archives
- Alternatives for Washington (Organization)--Archives
- Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Wash.). Citizen Oversight Panel--Archives
- King County (Wash.). Charter Review Committee--Archives
- King County (Wash.). Freeholder Commission--Archives
- League of Women Voters of Washington--Archives
- Metropolitan Transportation Committee (King County, Wash.)--Archives
- Municipal League of King County--Correspondence
- Port of Seattle--Archives
- Seattle 2000 Commission--Archives
- Seattle Monorail Project--Correspondence
- Washington State Highway Commission--Archives
- Women's Transportation Seminar--Archives
Geographical Names
- Interstate 5--Design and construction
- Interstate 90--Design and construction
- Matthews Beach Park (Seattle, Wash.)
- Washington State Route 520 (Wash.)--Design and construction
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Heyman, Ira Michael, 1930-2011 (author)
