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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 2 |
20 stories matching sprawl
- The Price of Ownership: Seattle’s 1888 Delinquent Tax List
A sprawling registry of property owners, from the prominent to the 'Unknown,' failing to pay their dues during Seattle’s rapid expansion.
- The Collapse of a Seattle Dynasty
Facing mounting debt, the city’s founding family reorganizes its sprawling land and streetcar empire under a new corporate umbrella.
- 1889 Seattle Ad Pitches Lots by the Cable Line
Before the city sprawled into the suburbs, developers sold the dream of West Seattle and Queen Anne as idyllic, 'sightly' investments.
- The Water Superintendent’s Public Feud
Seattle’s Water Superintendent fires back at claims of mismanagement, launching a sprawling, finger-pointing defense of his department’s books.
- The Loggers and the Law: A Ledger of Territory Disputes
In August 1888, the Seattle district court docket revealed a sprawling conflict over the Washington timber frontier, pitting private mills and railroads against the federal government.
- Seattle Claims Victory in the Gridiron Mud
A rainy, sludge-filled football clash at Madison Park sees Seattle avenge its previous defeat against Tacoma.
- The Curious Treasures of a Local Thief
Police clear out a sprawling collection of stolen property, ranging from hydraulic equipment to jeweler's tools, found at the home of a man named Albert Lombard.
- The Doctor, the Real Estate Agent, and the Horsewhip
A sensational courtroom drama unfolds after a woman attempts to cowhide a doctor in his office, leading to a sprawling conspiracy suit.
- The Great Seattle Housing Boom of 1890
A staggering list of hundreds of building permits filed on the final day of 1890 reveals the rapid, frantic expansion of a city rebuilding itself from the ashes of the Great Fire.
- The Struggle Over Seattle's Early Park System
City commissioners argue that selling the centrally located City Park could fund a sprawling, water-front recreation area on Lake Washington.
- The Great Annexation Ballot of 1891
Before the sprawling metropolis of today, Seattle held a massive, city-wide special election to incorporate its growing suburbs—from Ballard to Salmon Bay—into the city limits.
- The Dream of 'Wine Hill': A Victorian Real Estate Mirage
Developers in 1888 touted a booming Seattle suburb near Salmon Bay with a schoolhouse and factory jobs, long before the reality of the city's sprawl caught up.
- The Great Circus Showdown of 1888
When the Sells Brothers’ traveling circus arrived in Seattle, it brought a sprawling, multi-ringed spectacle that promised to transform the town's public thoroughfares into a Roman-style festival.
- The Real Estate 'Boom' of 1889
As Seattle sprawled rapidly during the late 19th century, land speculators flooded the newspapers with ads promising prime lots on the city's hills, shaping the geography of a growing metropolis.
- The Dream of 'Palatine Hill': An 1888 Real Estate Pitch
Before the city sprawled into the hills, developers promised the 'cheapest property' and a future of manufacturing jobs in this ambitious suburban subdivision near Seattle.
- Fireboat Battles Blazing Mill on the Tide Flats
McMaster's shingle mill, a sprawling wharf-side structure, is lost to a massive fire as the city's fireboat struggles to maneuver through a congested waterway.
- John L. Sullivan's Seattle Takeover
When the world’s heavyweight champion brought his traveling theatrical troupe to town, the city went into a frenzy of gawking, impersonations, and mass hysteria.
- The Open-Air Slumber of Seattle's Waterfront
When the summer heat turned tenement apartments into 'human lumber-boxes,' thousands of Seattle residents—men, women, and children alike—sought respite by camping overnight on the exposed, city-owned piers.
- The Cattle Rustlers of Hangman Creek
A Spokane sheriff’s posse orchestrates a midnight stakeout to bust a sprawling meat-theft ring, leading to a tense, violent shootout in the woods.
- The Dream of Palatine: 1888 Real Estate Hype in Seattle
A sprawling advertisement for a 'suburban' development in the Salmon Bay area reveals how developers promised working-class families a foothold in the rapidly industrializing north Seattle.