Dozen Distinctive Destinations
Walla Walla, WA
Year Listed: 2002
It's "the town so nice, they named it twice." Resting at the foot of the Blue Mountains in the southeastern region of Washington State, Walla Walla has been called one of the "Best Small Art Towns in America." A destination rich in history and natural beauty, Walla Walla boasts a vibrantly revitalized main street, year-round arts and music festivals and abundant opportunities for family fun.
The region was once inhabited by several Native American tribes, including the Walla Walla, whose name means "many waters." Later it became one of the first areas between the Rockies and the Cascades to be permanently settled by American pioneers. Between 1805 and 1806, Lewis and Clark passed through this historic territory, and in 1836 famed missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman settled here. A gold rush in the 1860s made Walla Walla a major commercial, banking, and manufacturing hub. Eventually - in the pre-Microsoft days - it became the largest city in Washington Territory. After the gold rush waned, however, farming anchored this great city, and today agriculture is still the backbone of Walla Walla's economy.
Main Street in Walla Walla, Washington.
Credit: Gil Langley
Walla Walla was a recipient of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Great American Main Street Award in 2001, and its downtown lives up to this recognition. Built on the Nez Perce Trail, which stretches to the Columbia River, Main Street features splendidly restored 19th-century buildings that house an eclectic mix of art galleries, restaurants, coffee shops and wine tasting rooms. To say that Walla Walla's art scene is active is an understatement. Boasting more than 15 art galleries, the oldest continuously operating symphony orchestra west of the Mississippi and a blues or jazz concert series almost every weekend, Walla Walla is proudly immersed in the arts. The area's three colleges keep the city's artistic pulse beating strong with a varied array of theatrical events and concerts, lectures and gallery tours. Children will love Fort Walla Walla Museum, which contains a complete pioneer settlement of 16 original and replicated buildings, including an 1800s-era railroad depot. The Balloon Stampede, an annual display of hot air balloons, is fun for kids of all ages.
