Greek-American Historical Museum of Washington State

The GREEK-AMERICAN HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF WASHINGTON STATE was established in 2009 with the mission of establishing an organized means of collecting, preserving and making available the history and culture of the Greek-American community in Washington State.

The Museum, also known as Greeks in Washington, presently operates as a “museum without walls” with online exhibits in the categories of Making a Living, Making a Home, and Keeping Community. The internet provides a means of reaching the entire world and viewer responses have been received from far corners of the globe.

The primary activity of the Museum is to conduct video interviews which become online exhibits with text, photos and video segments. By the end of 2015, there were over 200 video interviews conducted and 150 exhibits posted on the site.

Information about Greeks in Washington is regularly circulated to a wide variety of individuals, organizations and media outlets.

The Museum has established an archive to house donated or loaned items which include textiles, film, video, DVDs, costumes, clothing, bound volumes, printed materials, photos, slides, newspapers, documents, art work, audio recordings and other artifacts. These materials are available for inspection and research purposes.

In addition to the on-line exhibits and the establishment of the archive, the Museum has made a number of presentations including one on Alexander Pantages, the Greek theater mogul.

In 2013 and 2015 the Museum conducted a history competition in which young descendants of Greek immigrants were invited to submit essays, videos, electronic presentations or other media to tell the stories of their families’ immigration and experience in Washington.

The Museum has received the Charles Payton Heritage Advocacy Award from the Association of King County Historical Organizations (AKCHO). This award is for innovation, initiation, development or presentation of a plan by an organization or individual which has led to the advancement of funding for heritage projects, protection of heritage resources, or development of advocacy tools such as posters, videos, newsletters or websites.

The Museum has also been recognized by the Washington Museum Association (WMA) for its “museum without walls” because it serves as a significant model of achievement for Washington Museums. This Award of Project Excellence is for a project such as education, collections management, public programming or a web site.

In 2015, on behalf of the Museum, John and Joann Nicon received the Aspasia Pulakis received the Aspasia Phoutrides Pulakis Memorial Award from the Ethnic Heritage Council of the Northwest (EHC). The award recognizes an individual(s) who have contributed significantly to a northwest ethnic community and to the community at large in the areas of preservation, documentation and presentation of the ethnic experience.