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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1889 | 8 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1895 | 3 |
14 stories matching fireproof
- A Fireproof Infirmary for the Poor
After city officials refused to participate in a joint facility, the county moves forward with plans for a specialized, fireproof hospital at the poor farm.
- The Struggle for Dignity at the County Farm
King County breaks ground on a modern, fireproof hospital to replace a crowded, dangerous almshouse described as a 'tinder box'.
- The Fight to Fireproof Downtown
A Seattle neighborhood, built entirely of wood, fears a catastrophic blaze and petitions the city for a stone mandate.
- The Brick Revolution: Why Seattle’s Wooden Streets Are a Financial Trap
An editorial in the Seattle Intelligencer argues that the city's reliance on timber construction is holding back its prosperity, urging property owners to invest in fireproof brick buildings to secure higher rents and double their income.
- The City Council’s Fireproofing Farce: How Seattle’s ‘Renovations’ Are Destroying Property Values
An editorial scolds the local government for allowing cheap, temporary repairs to old buildings within fire limits, arguing that these 'shells' are disfiguring the business district and raising insurance rates for everyone.
- The Great Seattle Rebuild: Rethinking Fire Safety After the Ashes
In the wake of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, experts and local leaders scramble to replace wooden tinderboxes with new, fireproof standards and modern building codes.
- Night Fire on C Street: Tacoma's Laundry Goes Up in Flames
A predawn blaze destroys the Tacoma Steam Laundry and nearby shops, sending two women into the street in their nightclothes.
- The City Stops the Build: Seattle's 1889 Fight Over 'Fireproof' Tent-Frames
When D.K. Baxter tried to erect three structures made of pipe frames and canvas on Yesler Avenue, the city inspector shut him down, triggering a tense legal stand-off over what constitutes a safe building.
- Growing Pains in the Queen City: Seattle’s 1889 School Crisis
As the population exploded, the city’s schools were so overwhelmed that children were squeezed into attics, basements, and makeshift classrooms—a familiar struggle for a booming town.
- Guy Phinney's Brick Building Rises First After Seattle Fire
How Seattle’s downtown business district—scorched by the Great Fire—was transformed by private investment into a modern, fireproof city in just over a year.
- The City Council’s War on Inflammable Storage
New regulations restricted the storage of petroleum, naphtha, and gasoline, mandating fireproof construction and buffer zones from the waterfront.
- The Stone Capitol Olympia Was Promised
Architect Ernest Flagg says the foundation is finished and bids are about to go out for a fireproof statehouse—one built to last, if the legislature will pay for it.
- Seattle Rebuilds: Schwabacher Block, Arlington Hotel Lead Construction Surge
Architects unveil plans for new commercial blocks, a school, and hospital expansions as Seattle enters a building frenzy.
- Three Small Breweries, Thirty Acres, and a Thirsty Pacific
Seven years after two men opened a shed-sized brewery in South Seattle, the consolidated Seattle Brewing and Malting Company was shipping lager to Honolulu, Australia and Japan — and boasting that it had made the city the brewing capital of the Northwest.
Also about this, in other words
- The Great Seattle Fire of 1889: Surviving the Flames
While the city turned to ash, local business owners turned to their safes to see what remained of their livelihood.
- An Arson Plot Unearthed in a Rented Shack
A struggling family, searching for kindling in their attic, discovers a lethal trap set to torch their home.
- A Fire, a Locked Door, and a Daring Escape
A local reverend barely survived the blaze that destroyed his home in Black Diamond by shattering a window to escape the flames.