The 119th annual meeting of the American Historical Association will be held January 6–9, 2005, in Seattle at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, and the Sheraton Seattle and the Westin Seattle hotels. The hotel reservation information and form and the meeting preregistration form are included in the annual meeting Program (which will be mailed to members in October), and are available on the Association’s web site at http://www.historians.org/annual.

Many of the profession’s most distinguished members will be present in Seattle to deliver papers or otherwise participate in nearly 170 official AHA sessions. In addition, more than four-dozen specialized societies will be meeting in conjunction with the AHA. Each affiliated society will be holding its own sessions, luncheons, and/or meetings, as well as some joint sessions with the Association. More than 800 scholars, including 71 from other countries, are expected to participate in the meeting.

On the evening of Friday, January 7, Jonathan Spence of Yale University will deliver the presidential address. President-elect James J. Sheehan of Stanford University will announce the Association’s book awards, Awards for Scholarly Distinction, the Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award, the Beveridge Family Teaching Prize, the John E. O’Connor Film Award, the Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award, and the 2004 Honorary Foreign Member.

Accommodation

Blocks of rooms have been reserved at several downtown Seattle hotels, including the Sheraton, the Westin, the Crowne Plaza Seattle, the Grand Hyatt Seattle, the Hilton Seattle, the Red Lion on Fifth Avenue, the Renaissance Seattle, the Roosevelt, the Warwick Seattle, and the W Seattle. The Washington State Convention & Trade Center, located at 800 Convention Place, will house the AHA Book Exhibit, the Job Register, and some AHA and affiliate sessions. The Sheraton will serve as the headquarters hotel and will also accommodate AHA registration and the messaging and Internet centers. The Sheraton is located immediately adjacent to the Convention Center at 1400 Sixth Avenue. The Westin will serve as co-headquarters and is located four blocks from the Convention Center at 1900 Fifth Avenue. All hotels are within a four-block walk of the Convention Center.

Rates at the Sheraton, Westin, and the W Seattle, are $109 single and $129 double. Rates at the Crowne Plaza, the Red Lion, and the Warwick are $99 single and $109 double. Rates at the Renaissance are $104 single and $124 double, at the Grand Hyatt $109 single and double, at the Roosevelt $99 single and $119 double, and at the Hilton $99 single and double. Only a limited number of rooms at each property will be available at these special meeting rates. However, these rates will be in effect three days before and after the meeting dates and are thus available January 3 through January 12. A rebate of $5 per room, per night will be made by the hotels to the AHA to offset costs associated with rental of space in the Convention Center. All rooms are subject to city and state occupancy taxes of 15.6 percent per room, per night.

Making a Hotel Reservation

Beginning September 1, 2004, and until December 6, 2004, hotel reservations must be made exclusively through the Seattle Housing Bureau, the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau’s housing vendor. Requests for reservations will be accepted by the Seattle Housing Bureau via the Internet through a special link on the AHA annual meeting web page at http://www.historians.org/annual, which will take the user to housing bureau’s online services for the AHA meeting, as the AHA itself cannot process reservations. Reservations made via the Internet offer the best availability and immediate confirmation.
The housing bureau will also accept reservations via phone, fax, or mail. Phone reservations will be accepted from the United States and Canada from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday, at 888-877-0255. International callers may call 206-461-5881 during those hours to make reservations.

Faxes from the United States and Canada may be sent 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to 206-461-5853, but will be processed during the regular business hours set out above. Please use one form per room, making copies as needed. Only fully completed forms will be accepted.

Reservation requests may be mailed to the Seattle Housing Bureau, 701 Pike Street, Suite 800, Seattle WA 98101. Checks are accepted only with mailed housing forms, and should be made out to the Seattle Housing Bureau, in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank. Only fully completed forms will be accepted.

Reservations for suites can only be made by contacting the Housing Manager at 206-461-5894.

Confirmation: The Seattle Housing Bureau will send a confirmation of all new reservations, modifications, and cancellations within 10 to 14 days. Confirmation will be sent via e-mail, fax, or mail. Room reservations made by Internet and phone are confirmed immediately with a confirmation number. Please note that the individual hotels will not send out a separate confirmation.

Deposit: A deposit is required for all reservations. For standard room reservations, the deposit is $125 per room. The deposit for a one-bedroom suite is $250 and for a two-bedroom suite it is $375. Deposits can be guaranteed via credit card or by check payment. If payment is to be made by check, a check payable to the Seattle Housing Bureau, in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank, must accompany the completed housing request form. Credit cards will not be charged prior to the arrival date. The credit card must be valid through the dates of the annual meeting or the reservation will not be processed. The housing bureau accepts American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and Diner’s Club cards. The cardholder must sign the housing form for the reservation to be processed (except in the case of telephone or Internet reservations). The bureau does not accept money orders, wire transfers, or invoices for room deposits. Please note that reservations will not be processed without a deposit.

Cutoff Date: The cutoff date for the AHA’s official block is December 6, 2004. After this date, remaining inventory in the block will be released and rooms will be made available at the discounted convention rates only on a space-available basis. Subject to availability, reservations can continue to be made with the housing bureau until December 22. If all hotels sell out, the AHA will work with the housing bureau to secure additional hotel rooms.

Changes, Cancellations, and Refunds: Meeting attendees can modify (depending on availability) or cancel reservations through the Seattle Housing Bureau from September 1 through December 22, 2004. Attendees will not be penalized for any cancellation made on or before December 6. Cancellations received after the cutoff date, December 6, 2004, will be assessed a $25 processing fee. Reservations canceled after December 22 but up to 72 hours prior to the arrival date are subject to forfeiture of the entire amount of the deposit. Reservations cancelled less than 72 hours before the arrival date will be charged at the rate of one night’s room and tax. Refunds for all cancellations will be made through the same method of payment by which the attendee originally paid the deposit.

Do not contact the hotel directly until after December 22, 2004. After that date, attendees who wish to cancel must contact the hotel directly.

Transportation to Seattle

Association Travel Concepts (ATC) is the official travel agency for the annual meeting. ATC has negotiated discounts with United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, Avis Rent A Car, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car to bring attendees special air and car rental rates that are lower than those available to the public. To take advantage of these rates and benefits, call ATC at 800-458-9383 (9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday), fax 858-362-3153, or e-mail reservations@atcmeetings.com. A link to ATC’s web site is also available through the AHA annual meeting web page, http://www.historians.org/annual.

Airfares: By calling ATC, attendees will secure discounts of 10 to 15 percent on the lowest available fare for United (ID number 510CK), Continental (ID number VXBVVF), Delta (ID number DMN206949A), and Northwest (ID number NM5RC) on tickets purchased more than 60 days prior to the meeting. For tickets purchased less than 60 days prior, the discounts will be 5 to 10 percent off the lowest available fares. Some restrictions may apply and service fees will vary. Discounts apply for travel Monday, January 3 through Wednesday, January 12, 2005.

ATC will also search for the lowest available fare on any airline serving the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. ATC provides personalized service, advance seat assignments, special meal requests, frequent flier program updates, electronic ticketing, e-mail access for convenient booking of your tickets, and more.

These cost saving options may also be obtained online by going to the AHA’s web site (http://www.historians.org/annual) and clicking on the ATC travel link. Low fares available only on the Web can be found using the ATC search engine. Attendees can explore region-to-region flat zone rates and consolidator and net fares without a Saturday night stayover to find lower fares.

Car rental: Attendees can also arrange to rent a car through Avis (ID number J952801) or Enterprise (ID number 32H7476), or by contacting ATC (800-458-9383), with discounted rates effective January 3 through January 12, 2005.

Ground Transportation

Arriving by air: The Seattle area is served by the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, known as Sea-Tac (airport code SEA), and has direct and nonstop service throughout the United States and the northern hemisphere, including daily nonstop flights to/from Europe and Asia. Sea-Tac is located 16 miles from downtown Seattle. Incoming visitors can reach downtown hotels via taxi (approximately $30), Gray Line Airporter bus service to major hotels ($8 one way, $14 round trip, per person), and Shuttle Express Van Service ($21 one way, per person).

Downtown Seattle is compact, walkable, and pedestrian friendly. Three notable forms of public transportation are available to visitors, in addition to regular bus and taxi services. The Metro Underground Tunnel Bus System runs from the Convention Center; passengers can ride free to and from any of the five stops along the bus tunnel. The Monorail from Westlake Center in downtown Seattle runs from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The ride is $3 roundtrip and takes two minutes to cover the one-mile route. This is an easy and fun way for visitors to reach the Seattle Center grounds, home to the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, Seattle Opera House, and numerous other attractions. The Waterfront Trolley runs the length of the downtown Seattle waterfront, through historic Pioneer Square near the Kingdome. Passengers buy a ticket for $1.25, which entitles them to on-and-off privileges anywhere along the route. It is an easy way to cover a lot of territory among several of Seattle’s chief visitor attractions.

General Information

Group meetings and reunions: Societies and groups that have not already made arrangements to hold sessions or other meetings should send their requests for room space as soon as possible to Sharon K. Tune, by e-mail (stune@historians.org), or fax. 202-544-8307. Please specify preferred date, inclusive hours, attendance forecast, and any special equipment desired.

Business Meeting: Resolutions for the business meeting signed by 25 members of the Association and no more than 300 words in length will be accepted until December 15, 2004; those received by October 15 will take precedence and will be published in the December 2004 Perspectives. Resolutions should be sent to the Executive Director at the AHA office, with a copy to the Parliamentarian, Michael Les Benedict, 106 Dulles Hall, Ohio State University, 230 W. 17th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210.
Resolutions are governed by the following bylaw (adopted by the Council at its meeting on May 15–16, 1980, and amended May 9, 1994), pursuant to Article VII, Sections 1–5, of the AHA’s constitution: No motion, resolution, or other business shall be passed by a division of the members at the annual business meeting unless there is present a quorum of one hundred members in good standing.

Locations: AHA sessions will be held at the Convention Center and the Sheraton and Westin hotels. The Local Arrangements Committee office and Press Room will be in the Convention Center’s Room 201 and the AHA Headquarters/Staff Office in the Convention Center’s Room 202. The Job Register will be located in the Convention Center Ballroom 6E and the Exhibit Hall will occupy the Convention Center’s Ballrooms 6 A–C. The AHA meeting registration desks, meal ticket cashiers, Internet and messaging center will be located in the Sheraton’s Grand Ballroom A and B.

AHA Registration

Advance registration: Intending participants are urged to preregister at the reduced rates of $75 for members; $95 for nonmembers; $45 for student members; $55 for student nonmembers; $45 for unemployed; and $20 for precollegiate teachers. A special preregistration rate of $50 is being offered for high school and undergraduate teachers leading groups of up to five students (see article on page 34 for details). The preregistration form is on page 35. Advance registration requests must be received by Friday, December 10, 2004. Please note that preregistration for the 2005 meeting will be handled by a processing service and forms should be sent to the address shown on the form and not the AHA.

Registration at the meeting: The registration desks at the annual meeting, located in the Sheraton’s Grand Ballroom A and B, will be open from noon to 7:00 p.m. on January 6, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on January 7, and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on January 8. Fees for registering at the meeting will be $90 for members; $110 for nonmembers; $50 for student members; $60 for student nonmembers; $50 for unemployed; and $25 for precollegiate teachers. The special group rate mentioned above is not available on site.

Admission to the book exhibition, the Job Register, the messaging center, the Internet station, and to all sessions requires a registration badge.

Refund policy: Advance registrants who are unable to attend the meeting may request a refund of their registration fee in writing. Requests should be postmarked by December 17, 2004, and should include a copy of the preregistration form that was submitted. Proof of payment—copies of front and back of canceled check or copy of credit card statement—may also be required. All refunds are subject to a $10 processing fee. No refunds will be issued for requests postmarked after December 17, 2004.

Exhibit Hall

The exhibits will be located in Ballroom 6 A–C next door to the Job Register and will be open January 6 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., January 7 and 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on January 9 from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Job Register

The Job Register will be located in the Convention Center Ballroom 6E. Hours of operation will be January 6 from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., January 7 and 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and January 9 from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Messaging and Internet Centers

The Messaging and Internet Centers, which will facilitate electronic communication among attendees (and also make finding them easier), and between them and the World Wide Web, will be located in the Sheraton’s Grand Ballrooms A and B. o

—Sharon Tune is AHA’s convention director.