Beautified by a compact yet charismatic grid of Victorian buildings, central Ellensburg deserves an unhurried morning or afternoon's exploration. Kick off at the friendly chamber of commerce, where you can get informative maps of the downtown historic district, roughly contained between Main St and 6th and 3rd Aves. Sprinkled with antique shops, galleries and cafes, the quarter is dominated by the Davidson Building , Ellensburg's signature postcard sight, built in 1889 by local attorney John B Davidson. Also worth checking out is the Kittitas County Historical Museum , housed in the 1889 Cadwell Building, known mostly for its petrified-wood and gemstone collections but also boasting a cleverly-laid-out history section documenting the backgrounds of Croatian, Arabic and Welsh immigrants. Equally intriguing are the paintings of native son John Clymer at the Clymer Museum , whose all-American subjects graced Saturday Evening Post covers in the 1950s and '60s.
For kids try the Children's Activity Museum ,which has a miniature cowboy ranch, a science lab and other engaging hands-on exhibits.
