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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 62 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 30 |
| 1893 | 49 |
| 1894 | 21 |
| 1895 | 30 |
204 stories matching structur
- Spokane's New Municipal Building Lost in Fire
The nearly completed city hall, a $100,000 project, was gutted by a blaze that started from a plumber's tarpot.
- Teredo Worms Cut a Seattle Wharf Adrift
A shipworm-weakened pier at the foot of Dearborn Street collapsed into Elliott Bay, sending a warehouse down with a crash and leaving the wreckmaster to haul a floating dock back to shore.
- The Iron Shed Rebellion
After the Great Seattle Fire, one man defies new building codes by erecting corrugated iron structures in the fire-restricted zone, triggering a city-wide showdown over safety and property rights.
- The Unlucky Blacksmith of Front Street
A routine building project in early Seattle ends in a chaotic tumble as a blacksmith shop collapses, sending tools and timber into the thoroughfare.
- After the Great Flood, a New Span for the Snoqualmie
Following the destruction of the old wooden crossing, the county moves to replace the link at the Snoqualmie hop ranch with a modern iron structure.
- The Bridge That Folded Over the Nooksack
High wind and failing bolts send six workmen into the wreckage of the Welcome bridge; one man is expected to lose a leg.
- The Crumbling Capitol Gets a Patch-Up
As legislators prepare for the 1893 session, the barn-like structure in Olympia receives a new roof and a desperately needed expansion.
- The Corpse, the Fire, and the Vanishing Policy
William Radloff disappeared after putting a corpse in his house and torching the structure. With his life-insurance policy now lapsed, his wife has filed no claim—leaving Seattle to wonder what really happened.
- Seattle's Burnt District Rebuilds in Brick After 1889 Fire
Following the Great Seattle Fire, the city's burnt district transforms as brick blocks replace wooden ruins and the city plans for a modern infrastructure.
- Seattle’s Rebirth After the Great Fire
While the embers of the 1889 Great Fire were still cooling, the city's architects and business leaders immediately began a frenzied, organized effort to rebuild the commercial district in brick and stone.
- Seattle’s Housing Crisis: Brick by Brick, Room by Room
As the city races to build new brick structures on Second and Smith Streets, officials warn that even these new constructions won't be enough to stop rents from skyrocketing.
- The Wharf, the Steamer, and the Line Between Land and Sea
A steamer strains at her lines and damages a warehouse on Gilman’s Wharf. Judge Hanford says the case belongs in admiralty court because the injury happened over Elliott Bay.
- Bridge Collapse Kills Seven Great Northern Railroad Workers
A temporary construction span on the Wenatchee River failed under the weight of a heavy train, plunging workers sixty feet into the water.
- The Day the Hurricane Wrecked the Waterfront
A fierce gale tears through Seattle, collapsing a partially built factory on the tide flats and sending laborers sprinting for their lives.
- Seattle's Public Library Dreams Put on Hold
After clearing the site of previous tenants, city officials stall on the construction of a new permanent home for the public library, leaving the project in limbo.
- The Day the Wind Took Down Tacoma’s New Buildings
A fierce storm topples a nearly finished commercial building, claiming the life of a prominent contractor and leaving a city in shock.
- The Unsafe City: A Local Builder Battles Seattle’s Negligence
After the city left a decaying, debris-filled bulkhead to collapse onto his building site, one developer takes his grievance to the public—and hits a wall of municipal bureaucracy.
- Queen Anne Parents Freeze the School Fund
Residents obtain an injunction to stop the school board from spending building money on other warrants, charging that children are stuck in a ruinous board structure.
- The Brick Boom: Snohomish Plans Two New Structures as Capital Floods In
While Seattle grows, its northern neighbor is laying the groundwork for a commercial renaissance with major real estate transfers and ambitious construction plans.
- The Wharf Eaten Alive
Seattle's city wharf at the foot of Spring Street is in a precarious state after being compromised by marine borers.
- The Unhallowed Site of a Parsonage
A dispute over a church building on the Puyallup reservation cemetery reveals the discovery of Indigenous burials beneath the structure.
- A Depression Year Didn’t Stop Seattle’s Builders
The state university rose toward three stories and Senator Squire’s four-story block went up at Main and South Second—part of $466,077 in construction logged in 1894.
- The Fire at the Granger Cottage
A modest $1,000 home is reduced to ash in a Sunday afternoon blaze, marking yet another loss in a series of local misfortunes.
- A Power Grab in Olympia: Electric Companies Win the Right to Condemn Land
A bill allowing electric power companies to seize private property for transmission lines squeaked through the Washington House on a reconsideration vote in 1895.
- The Struggle to Shore Up the Seattle Waterfront
Engineers face a daunting challenge as they fight back the rising tide in a race to reinforce the city's crumbling wharf foundations.