Seattle City Government
Named in 8 stories. Back to all names
- Nov 22, 1876Rain Turns Early Seattle's Front Street to MudWhen heavy rains turned downtown thoroughfares into impassable quagmires, residents demanded better engineering than the temporary, 'penny-wise' patch jobs of the 1870s.Third Street, Seattle, WA
- Feb 7, 1885The Unending Drain at Columbia StreetA classic city mistake in 1886: an improperly built drain leads to a massive, costly wash-out that requires days of manual labor to repair.Columbia Street, Seattle, WA
- Aug 13, 1887The Great Tax Assessment Mess of 1887Seattle and King County property owners find their tax rolls hopelessly entangled in errors, leaving public officials to question if the entire assessment should be scrapped.Seattle, WA
- Jun 21, 1888The Struggle to Keep Seattle Clean in 1888As Seattle prepared for a massive influx of tourists for a summer celebration, one citizen publicly shamed the city's leadership for allowing its streets to remain a cluttered, hazardous mess of construction debris.Front Street, Seattle, WA
- Jun 21, 1889The Rebuilding of SeattleA desperate plea to voters in 1889 to elect leaders who could manage the massive, necessary reconstruction of a city decimated by fire.First Avenue, Seattle, WA
- Jun 24, 1889The Tragic Cost of Seattle’s GrowthAfter the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, city officials debated the ethics of sending relief funds to fire-ravaged Vancouver while the city struggled with its own credit and debt.Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA
- Jul 4, 1889Seattle's Burnt District Rebuilds in Brick After 1889 FireFollowing the Great Seattle Fire, the city's burnt district transforms as brick blocks replace wooden ruins and the city plans for a modern infrastructure.Ballard, Seattle
- Jul 11, 1892The Smallpox Threat from VictoriaAs cases of smallpox rise rapidly in British Columbia, Seattle calls for a strict maritime quarantine to protect the city.Seattle, WA