It started as a joke.

A couple of years ago, I was driving past the Renton History Museum with my dad. I said, “I’d like to go there someday,” to which my dad responded, “The Renton History Museum? What do they have in there? A bunch of really old 6-packs of Rainier Lager?”

And we laughed and laughed… but I never did visit the museum.

I was intrigued by the architecture of the building, which has a distinctive Art Deco-style and is very old, but well-maintained. It looked really cool. It’s located in old downtown Renton, which is super retro and quaint. I thought about going down there many Saturday afternoons, but never did.

Last week, we picked our clients for our advertising campaign. We have been tasked with creating an integrated cross-media concept for a civic or public service cause. My choice was clear: I would promote the city of Renton, old downtown Renton and the Renton History Museum.

When I ran it past my teacher, he said the idea was hilarious.

Lets face it — Renton’s reputation ain’t so spiffy.

Honestly, I don’t like to tell people I live in Renton. When I tell people where I live, they generally laugh or say sorry.

Since moving here two years ago, I am ashamed to say that I haven’t gotten to know my city very well. I like my apartment, I like my neighborhood, and I like that parking is plentiful and stuff is cheap, but that’s about where it ends for me. Before yesterday, I don’t think I have ever spent time exploring downtown Renton. And the reason for that is the same as it would be for anyone else: FEAR.

This fear is based on a pretty widely held perception that Renton is, at worst, violent and dangerous, and at best lame as hell.

At one point, I was so desperate for local social activities that, inspired by Fight Club, I seriously entertained the idea of joining Alcoholics Anonymous just for the social interaction.

This is a shame, because in my travels yesterday, I experienced some wonderful things. First of all, the old downtown Renton is really cute. There are some great coffee shops, old malt-shop-style restaurants and antique stores. There are lots of outdoor hangout spots. The Piazza is an outdoor space that hosts a variety of amazing community events like farmers markets and festivals. The sense of community is palpable.

What shocked me the most was learning that the crime rates in Renton are actually lower than in Seattle. Aside from it being a little “rapey”, all the other stats are considerably lower than I expected them to be. If you compare Seattle to Renton, Renton actually comes out safer.

Being a history buff, my favorite part about downtown Renton is that it is like stepping back in time. The shop fronts on 3rd (which is basically the “main drag” of old downtown), are the same as they were in the 1950s, and not in a bad way. Seriously, this place has everything! Restored old buildings! Original doorways! Sewing machine stores!!! There is something to be said for areas where everything hasn’t been torn down and rebuilt to look like every other place in the world.

It’s kitchy and quaint and has amazing potential to be a pretty cool destination.

3rd Street borders a very cute residential neighborhood full of war era houses, and some of the houses have been converted into businesses. Having been raised in a small town, I always delight in seeing a law office that looks like this:

Anyway, I finally did make it to the Renton History Museum, and it did not disappoint. I arrived in early afternoon, and there was a children’s event taking place in the middle of the museum. Jennifer, the volunteer greeter at the door, assured me that if I wanted to have a look around it would be fine, but I might want to come back after the pirate show had wrapped up. I ventured forth, supplied with pamphlets, hand-outs and a ballot (the museum is hosting a community photography contest, and I was asked to vote) into the screaming belly of the museum. I thought to myself, this is not how I pictured this AT ALL. It was noisy. It was alive.

After the show, parents and children milled about and ate from the platter of homemade cookies that were supplied by the museum. I caught myself wondering: ‘where do these people come from? Surely not gross old Renton’. It was fun and friendly. People were eating. Kids were touching stuff. People approached me and started a conversation. It certainly didn’t seem like any museum I had ever been to before. Then I realized, this is community. This is a gathering place.

Turns out, Renton has a rich tapestry of history. Like, enough to fill the whole entire book that I brought home. Who knew? I’m not going to go into the history in detail right now, but my favorite fun-fact is that the Art Deco-style museum building is the last remaining structure in the area built under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Oh, and also, Captain Renton (yes, there was a Captain Renton) was originally a Canadian. BOOYAH. SUCK IT TREBEK.

Captain William Renton (1818-1891), ca. 1875
Courtesy Renton Historical Society

I realize I have my work cut out for me. I am swimming up-stream, against a reputation that has been around for decades. But I feel like there are enough residents interested in creating good community in Renton that it can be done. I met quite a few of them yesterday. I am sure that Ian from Rely on Renton (relyonrenton.com) will be a valuable contact, as will be the folks at the Renton Historical Society. My target market will be the community of Renton, I’m basically marketing Renton to Renton. We’re gonna bring out the good! Push out the bad! It’s go time!!

Yes, that’s a zombie photo tent. And I’ve been told that zombie guy is running for office.