Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 7 |
| 1889 | 35 |
| 1891 | 9 |
| 1892 | 72 |
| 1893 | 66 |
| 1894 | 66 |
| 1895 | 66 |
321 stories matching project
- The Dangerous Sewer Project at Rainier and Bash
In a desperate bid for political patronage before the election, the City Council authorized a controversial sewer project that threatens the city's water supply at Lake Washington.
- The Seattle Waterfront Fight
Prominent local Democrats break ranks with their state party to endorse Republican John H. McGraw, citing the critical importance of the Lake Washington canal project.
- The Effort to Drain Lake Washington
Local farmers and landowners organize to drain the lowlands of the Squak River and Lake Washington to create more agricultural territory.
- The Great 'Pulp' Boom of Seattle
While Seattle’s real estate developers were busy building the city, the local papers were fixated on an odd, failed experiment to tow a massive Canadian timber raft down the Pacific Coast to California—a project that ended in a floating, ocean-clogging disaster.
- The Mayor's Selective Hatchet
A critical look at Mayor Ronald’s inconsistent logic in his attempt to fire board members over the city's tunnel sewer project.
- The Great Canal Vision of 1894
Captain Symons reports on the ambitious, multi-million dollar proposal to carve a ship canal through Seattle's south end to connect Puget Sound with Lake Washington.
- The Political Flip-Flop over the Lake Washington Canal
A scathing editorial exposes the hypocrisy of a Tacoma publisher using the canal project as a pawn in a larger Republican party feud.
- South Sewer Tunnel Project Stalled
Financial chaos at City Hall halts work on a major infrastructure project, leaving thirty workers unemployed.
- The Industrial Remaking of Everett's Waterfront
Federal authorities grant permission for a massive engineering project to wall off the Snohomish River delta, transforming a shallow tidal area into a deep-water harbor for industrial commerce.
- The Paving of Second Street
A pivotal public works project in 1889 captures a city in the midst of rapid transformation.
- The Battle Against 'Butcher' Architects
Local architects met to argue against open competitions that allowed unqualified builders and butchers to bid on public projects.
- The Anatomy of a Public Works Disaster
Engineering testimony reveals how cheap, porous bricks and massive inefficiency turned city sewer projects into money pits.
- Legislators Get the Red Carpet Treatment in Seattle
Seattle citizens host state lawmakers for a whirlwind tour and theater outing to lobby for a proposed canal project.
- Seattle Republicans Make Case for Lake Washington Canal in 1892
Republican leaders rally in Seattle to advocate for the Lake Washington Canal, framing it as the city’s essential path to commercial supremacy over rival Tacoma.
- A Populist Call to Build the Ship Canal
A citizen offers a radical proposal to jump-start the construction of the Seattle Ship Canal through volunteer labor and public subscription.
- A $2 Million Power Plant Would Harness White River for Tacoma and Seattle
Promoters behind a New Jersey-chartered company plan a Lake Tapps reservoir and a Stuck Valley generator, aiming to power an interurban railroad and industry in Tacoma and Seattle.
- The Ghost-Hunter Comes to Seattle
Notorious spiritualist Anna Eva Fay visits the New Seattle Theater to perform a scientific séance, bringing tales of talking heads and astral projection.
- The Thirty-Mile Dream: A New Air Line Between Seattle and Tacoma
Promoter Henry Bucey revived a plan for a broad-gauge railroad linking Tacoma and Seattle, promising a shorter route—if he could secure the right-of-way and land subsidies first.
- Mayor Ronald Removes Commissioner Heilbron for Neglect
After finding evidence of self-dealing and widespread dereliction of duty regarding city infrastructure projects, the Mayor ousts George H. Heilbron from the Board of Public Works.
- Seattle’s Sewer Construction Hits a Wall
A report from the City Engineer exposes significant budget overruns and administrative errors in the 1893 sewer bond projects, forcing an immediate halt to construction.
- The Ghost City of Stanley
Investors realize the 'City of Stanley' they bought into is a total fabrication, leading to a massive lawsuit against land speculators.
- The Political Fight for the Lake Washington Canal
How a regional rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma defined the 1892 legislative races and the push for federal infrastructure.
- Seattle Bets on a Canal, Tide Flats and a New Iron Works
A state press report says Seattle is the one Washington city with major projects this year: a $900,000 canal and tide-land scheme, plus an iron furnace and car works backed by New York capital.
- The Decades-Long Struggle for the Ship Canal
While Washington’s politicians bickered over river improvements and silver coinage in 1892, Seattle’s leaders were quietly lobbying Congress to fund the monumental task of connecting Puget Sound to Lake Union and Lake Washington.
- The Political Betrayal of Seattle
At the 1892 State Democratic Convention, a coalition of Pierce County delegates and King County defectors successfully turned the party platform against Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal project.