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44 stories matching Pacific City
- The City That Refused to Die
How Seattle outmaneuvered the Northern Pacific Railroad's attempts to hoard land and throttle the city's growth in the 1880s.
- The Ghosting of Yakima City
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed the original town of Yakima City, they didn't just move the station—they forced the entire town to uproot itself.
- The Shadow Over Seattle's Waterfront
As the anti-Chinese movement spreads through the Pacific Northwest, agitators in Seattle and Tacoma organize a campaign of expulsion, claiming the city's prosperity is at risk.
- The Campaign to Purge Seattle’s Chinatown
In 1885, as anti-Chinese sentiment surged across the Pacific Northwest, a Seattle city official led a raid on the city's Chinatown, marking an early, aggressive move in the movement to drive the Chinese community out of the city.
- The Price of the 'Boom' in 1885 Seattle
While the city rode a wave of prosperity, locals were already feeling the strain of rapid expansion, speculation, and the 'dull times' that inevitably follow a growth spurt.
- The Waterfront Tug-of-War: A Seattle Infrastructure Battle
A heated debate on the floor of Congress reveals the growing pains of Seattle’s ports as the territory fights for federal status to manage its booming trade.
- The New Yakima Depot: Planning a City from Scratch
Northern Pacific Railroad directors map out a new town with schools, churches, and canals in Eastern Washington, signaling a transformation for the frontier.
- Seattle Pauses for the General: A City Honors Ulysses S. Grant
When word reached the Pacific Northwest that General Ulysses S. Grant had passed away, Seattle held a solemn city-wide memorial to honor the leader of the Union Army.
- The Great Iowa Editor Invasion
Seattle prepares for a high-profile visit from Midwestern press barons, signaling the city's growing importance as a gateway to the Pacific.
- The Ghost Town Gambit
A scathing exposé of how the Northern Pacific Railroad manipulated land values and abandoned the established citizens of Yakima City for a new, company-owned townsite.
- The Great Cigar-Maker Swindle
A labor organizer lured 200 workers to Seattle with promises of steady jobs in California, only to abandon them penniless after pocketing their displacement costs.
- The Great Tacoma Potato Fiasco
When a local farmer tried to break into the Tacoma market with a wagonload of produce, he found that the city’s much-vaunted commercial prosperity was, quite literally, not worth a hill of beans—or potatoes.
- The City’s 'Worthless' Vagabond Problem
A 1885 editorial call for the city to forcibly expel the unemployed, framed as a nuisance to the thriving Pacific Northwest economy.
- The Day Tacoma Forced Out Its Chinese Neighbors
In a pre-planned act of collective expulsion, hundreds of residents marched through the rain to force the city's Chinese population to flee to Lakeview, marking a dark chapter in Pacific Northwest history.
- The Seattle-Shore Line Deadlock
A standoff between the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Oregon Improvement Company leaves the vital Shore Line trackage idle.
- The Torchlight Mob at Frye's Opera House
In 1885, Seattle laborers and anti-Chinese activists gathered for a massive, torch-lit demonstration to demand the removal of the city's Chinese population, marking a dark chapter of exclusionary labor violence in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Town Held Hostage by the Railroad
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed an established town to create a company-owned rival, the residents were left in a fight for their city’s survival.
- The Voice of the Anti-Chinese Movement
A local resident writes to the Post-Intelligencer arguing that Seattle must rid itself of Chinese labor to support the 'bone, sinew and wealth' of the white community.
- The Struggle for a Rail Link: Seattle Demands Better Transit
In 1885, Seattle business leaders met with the president of the Northern Pacific Railroad to demand better freight service, arguing that a lack of rail connectivity was choking the city's economic growth.
- The Drive for Anti-Chinese Ordinances in 1885 Seattle
A local petition sought to bar Chinese laborers from laundry businesses and vegetable peddling, laying the groundwork for a wave of exclusionary legislation.
- The Arrest of Addie Woodward
A young Seattle woman is found cross-dressed and intoxicated in a Pacific Avenue saloon, sparking a moralizing headline in the local press.
- The Railway vs. The Town: A Forcible Relocation in Yakima
When the Northern Pacific Railroad tried to bypass the original town of Yakima to force residents and businesses to relocate to a new site, the citizens formed a committee to resist—and were met with cold corporate indifference.
- An 1885 Delegation's 'Grand Tour' of Seattle
When a Portland delegation arrived in Seattle by steamer in July 1885, they were treated to an opulent tour of the town, a clambake at Port Blakely, and a glowing review in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- The Boomtown Gold Rush of 1885
While Seattle and Portland weathered the collapse of prior manias, a new, frantic energy was rising in San Diego—with eyes fixed on British Columbia as the next frontier.
- The Boys in Blue Arrive in Seattle
When federal troops were deployed to suppress anti-Chinese violence in 1885, they found themselves quartered in a local opera house, leading to a strange and rowdy few days in the city.