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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
18 stories matching basic
- The Seneca Street Sludge
A persistent drainage issue on a downtown sidewalk sparks frustration among Seattle pedestrians, highlighting the lack of basic civic maintenance in the growing city.
- The Midnight Hazard on Front Street
A pedestrian falls into an open trench, highlighting the lack of basic safety measures in a growing, construction-heavy Seattle.
- The 1878 Housing Squeeze
Before the skyline, Seattleites were already scrambling to find affordable bedding and basic household furnishings to survive the cold.
- City Hall's Quarantine Deadlock
As the Board of Health scrambles to map an imaginary quarantine line for cholera, the city's inability to pay for basic sanitation has created a public health crisis.
- The City Council’s Hammock Scandal
Seattle’s city fathers clash over the 'reckless extravagance' of buying thirty-four hammocks for the city jail.
- The Desperate Plea of a Crippled Sailor
A man smashes a streetcar window to force the city to provide him with basic care.
- Mud, Drains, and Municipal Neglect
With city infrastructure in disarray, a local editor calls for a better approach to grading, drainage, and basic sidewalk maintenance.
- The Struggle for a Sidewalk
Citizens and the City Council wrangle over basic infrastructure as Seattle grapples with rapid growth and urban order.
- The Price of Public Care
King County officials weigh competing bids for the medical and basic care of the county's poor in 1883.
- The Great Sailor Shortage: Why Seattle’s Labor Market Was Starving for Hands
In December 1876, the city faced a paradoxical crisis: despite the suspension of summer logging work, sailors were vanishing from the docks. Commissioner Ballou reported that a single crewman was worth more than a pair of jacks in poker, as wages had to be inflated just to secure basic maritime labor.
- The Pioneer Struggle to Pave Commercial Street
Before it was the bustling core of Pioneer Square, Seattle’s Commercial Street was a rough-hewn stretch of dirt and mud in dire need of basic infrastructure.
- The Bard at the Seattle Opera House
Without the funds for elaborate sets, Frederick Warde brought Shakespeare back to the basics.
- A Marriage Unravels in Court
A Seattle divorce trial exposes domestic misery and accusations of physical abuse and infidelity.
- A Close Call on the Hill
After a devastating nighttime fire in 1877, Seattle residents grapple with the fragility of a wooden city and the lack of basic firefighting infrastructure.
- The Battle for Seattle’s Soul
Tensions boil over between labor organizers and the property-owning elite over the presence of Chinese workers, as the city teeters on the edge of mob rule.
- The High Cost of Isolation
A local editor argues that the lack of direct transport routes creates an artificial tax on basic goods like beef, coal, and timber.
- The 'Veneer and Sham' of 19th Century Schooling
A historic critique of a curriculum overstuffed with 'smatterings' and fancy subjects, arguing that public schools were failing to provide the basic, useful education required for life.
- The Clay Under Seattle Built a Million-Dollar Industry
King County clay works turned local deposits into firebrick, paving brick, sewer pipe and architectural terra cotta—winning federal tests and employing hundreds of men.