Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 20 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 30 |
| 1884 | 10 |
| 1885 | 14 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 13 |
| 1888 | 8 |
| 1889 | 31 |
| 1890 | 10 |
| 1891 | 42 |
| 1892 | 96 |
| 1893 | 56 |
| 1894 | 56 |
| 1895 | 54 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 12 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1903 | 17 |
| 1904 | 36 |
| 1905 | 7 |
| 1908 | 12 |
| 1909 | 50 |
| 1910 | 9 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 11 |
| 1915 | 11 |
| 1916 | 13 |
| 1917 | 7 |
| 1918 | 5 |
| 1923 | 6 |
| 1924 | 6 |
| 1928 | 1 |
681 stories matching bridg
- Under Fire on the Way to Spokane: Seattle's Militia Rode Into a Rail War
Col. Joseph Green's detachment returns from Spokane after escorting a mutinied company through burned bridges, ambushes and striker country—and the city turns out to cheer.
- A $12,000 Bridge to Richland—and a Lesson in Low Bids
Benton County commissioners reject four steel-bridge bids and hire the Coast Bridge Company to replace the Yakima River crossing with two Howe-truss spans.
- Whose Ox Gets Gored: Kennewick Draws the Line on County Bridge Bonds
A Prosser editor's jab over a Columbia River bridge bond prompts the Kennewick Courier-Reporter to deny it ever sought a bridge — and to attack commissioners' power to borrow without a vote.
- The City's Bridge Dilemma
Tacoma faces a choice between costly wood, fading steel, or a permanent concrete future.
- The Crumbling Span Over the Gulch
South Tacoma residents demand immediate action as a critical bridge over a ravine shows dangerous signs of structural failure.
- Engineers Warned the Kennewick–Richland Bridge Was Dangerous
With the old Yakima River crossing judged too flimsy to repair, county commissioners prepared to let a contract for a new steel highway bridge by the end of December 1916.
- The Great White River Bridge Feud
A fiery letter from a resident exposes the political squabbling and local power struggles behind a seemingly mundane infrastructure project in King County.
- The Moxee Bridge Collapses
A two-year-old span falls into the river, prompting questions about engineering and site selection.
- Unsafe at Any Depth: Detillion Bridge Condemned, Emergency Contract Let
A joint inspection finds the Spokane River crossing beyond repair, forcing Stevens and Lincoln counties to rescind a contract and fast-track a replacement.
- A Bridge to Span the Spokane
Citizens fund a new crossing at Post Street, promising a vital link between the city's shores and a grand view of the falls.
- The Bridge That Broke: Tacoma's Infrastructure Crisis and the Union Mutiny
As a vital bridge spanning the Puyallup River collapses under its own weight, Tacoma residents face logistical chaos while a separate maritime labor dispute erupts into violence on the docks.
- Gate City’s Bridge to Nowhere—and the Heavyweight Who Saw a Future
A missing approach leaves a new Black River bridge unusable, diverting trade to Centralia—but John L. Sullivan thinks the town could host his next fight.
- The Battle for the Snoqualmie Road
A fiery exchange in the Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer reveals the tense intersection of local commerce, red tape, and the precarious state of rural King County infrastructure in 1885.
- The Bridge at the Commissioner's Back Door
A group of settlers in the White River Valley accuses a King County commissioner of misusing taxpayer money to build a bridge near his own property, ignoring the needs of the actual traveling public.
- The Case for Concrete
Tacoma voters decide on a $375,000 bond issue to replace decaying wooden bridges with permanent concrete structures.
- The Great Bridge Bid: Seattle’s War for the Snoqualmie Crossing
As county commissioners open bids for a massive new bridge over the Snoqualmie River at Novelty, local engineers face stiff competition from San Francisco giants in a contest that will define Seattle's western infrastructure.
- Death on the Division Street Bridge
A morning commute turned into a catastrophe when a steel span over the Spokane River collapsed, sending two trolley cars into the freezing water.
- The Bridge Swung, and Fifteen Loaded Cars Went Down
A bridge collapse near Walla Walla sent a tender, fifteen freight cars and a caboose into a ravine, leaving three railroad men badly injured and one likely to lose an arm.
- A Bridge, a Snub, and a Secession Threat on the Snake
Franklin County offers $20,000 for a Snake River crossing at Burbank. Walla Walla County’s commissioners hesitate, and residents at the county’s western edge start talking about leaving.
- Will the Eleventh Street Bridge Collapse?
Public works officials send a diver into the channel to ensure the bridge foundation remains stable amid industrial dredging operations.
- Olympia’s Booster Year: Brick, Bridges and a 50,000-Person Promise
As 1891 closed, the capital city counted $3 million in new buildings, a record bridge, electric lights and new rail lines — and predicted 50,000 residents within a decade.
- The City's Endless Bridge Troubles
Tacoma's public works are stalled as city officials argue over shoddy materials and unfinished infrastructure.
- The Engineering Fever of 1876
As bridge-building projects skyrocket across the nation, Seattle looks toward the ambitious, iron-willed future of American infrastructure.
- The Battle for the Heron Street Bridge
Aberdeen’s city government grapples with legal gridlock over funding a critical river crossing.
- A Sailor's Last Ride on the Duwamish Bridge
Alexander McRae came from New York to take charge of a lumber barkentine. Near South Park he tried to board a moving streetcar, fell twenty feet through a bridge, and died before reaching Seattle.