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1,082 stories matching Pacific City
- Northern Pacific Moves to Control Tacoma's Railroad Avenue
How the Northern Pacific Railroad maneuvered the city council to seize prime tide-flat property, effectively bottling up Tacoma's harbor and blocking competition.
- The Battle for Seattle's Soul: Who Owns the City?
As the Northern Pacific Railroad, wealthy speculators, and the City of Seattle clash in Olympia over a massive land claim, the future of Seattle’s streets and growth hangs in the balance.
- 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 Iron Mountain That Built a City: How Denny’s Discovery Fueled Seattle’s Industrial Ambition
A national mining expert confirms the rich iron deposits on Mount Rainier are ready for exploitation, promising to turn Seattle into the steel-making capital of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Northern Pacific Railroad Depot Gets a Deadline
Tacoma City Council forces the hand of the Northern Pacific, setting a firm date for the construction of a new passenger depot on Pacific Avenue.
- City Council Clashes Over Paving Failures
A stalled Pacific Avenue paving project sparks a fiery city council debate over contractor accountability and city ordinance violations.
- Northern Pacific Slashes Freight Rates in a Coast-to-Coast War
Seattle shippers get word that commodity rates from Chicago and the river cities will drop to match the Southern Pacific’s Sunset route.
- Telescoped at the Crossing: A Grant Street Horror
When a Northern Pacific freight train plowed into an electric streetcar on May 20, 1909, one man died and dozens were mangled in the icy water below. The crash exposed dangerous speeds and negligent watchmen at a city intersection that remains vital today.
- The Man Who Said He Spoke for the Czar
A smooth-talking stranger blew into Tacoma claiming to be the Russian government's agent in a Siberian railway steamship scheme — then turned out to be tangled up in the intrigue surrounding the state capitol commission.
- When Seattle Won the Transcontinental Sweepstakes
In 1890, the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Union Pacific converged on Seattle, transforming the city from a remote settlement into a global Pacific terminus.
- The Consolidation That Reshaped Seattle’s Waterfront
When the Northern Pacific swallowed the Lake Shore road, it signaled the end of a chaotic era for Seattle’s docks and a tightening grip on the city’s industrial spine.
- City Wins Long Battle Over Northern Pacific Land
Tacoma secures major property concessions worth half a million dollars after a two-year fight with the railroad.
- The Boomtown Hype of 1888
A real estate advertisement masquerading as news paints a picture of a city on the precipice of industrial greatness, promising that Seattle will soon become the 'Queen City of the Pacific.'
- The 1888 Land Rush: Selling the 'Future Great City' of the Pacific
An aggressive pitch from Eshelman, Llewellyn Co. urges Seattle visitors to stop paying rent and buy into 'Ross' Second Addition' to secure their family's future.
- The $5.5 Million Bet That Would Reshape Seattle's Waterfront
St. Louis investors sign on to fill the tide flats and dig a canal linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound, betting Seattle will become the Pacific coast's leading city.
- The Railway 'Bottleneck': Tacoma's Fight Against Northern Pacific
Citizens and the Chamber of Commerce declare war on the Northern Pacific Railroad for prioritizing Seattle and isolating Tacoma travelers.
- The Queen City of the Northwest
A visitor from Oregon praises the rapid real estate growth and the 'model' atmosphere of the bustling Seattle scene.
- The Bold Bid for a New Pacific Emporium
Speculators and city-builders are betting millions on a new town at the mouth of the Columbia River, hoping to eclipse Portland and Victoria as the premier trading hub of the North.
- At 82, Peter Stewart Seeks Payment for Confiscated Lighthouse Land
After the government seized his land and improvements for a lighthouse in 1853, an 82-year-old pioneer finally seeks compensation from Congress.
- 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.
- Tacoma’s Great White Way: Tungsten Streetlights Arrive
A new electrical experiment on Pacific Avenue aims to slash power consumption while brightening the path to the city docks.
- The High-Stakes Battle for Baseball Supremacy in the Pacific Northwest
In 1892, Pacific Northwest cities engaged in a fierce, high-stakes political and financial struggle to secure a spot in the professional baseball league circuit, with Salem and Spokane facing off for the final slot.
- The Great Railway Race to the Pacific
Northern Pacific and the 'Hunt Road' scramble to capture Aberdeen's budding port.
- The Great Railway Race to Grays Harbor
Two railroad giants battle to lay tracks into Aberdeen as the town positions itself as the Pacific Northwest’s premier gateway.
- Seattle Promoters Pitch a Land Boom in 1888
Developers were promising that Seattle would become the 'Mistress of the Pacific,' enticing investors with visions of massive industry, steel mills, and skyrocketing real estate values.