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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 8 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1883 | 9 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 14 |
| 1889 | 21 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 17 |
| 1892 | 19 |
| 1893 | 9 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 5 |
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| 1903 | 11 |
| 1904 | 14 |
| 1909 | 8 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
189 stories matching expand
- The Queen City’s Growing Pains
In an 1888 address, Seattle’s mayor reflects on the city's meteoric population growth, the struggle to replace wooden 'make-shift' infrastructure with modern brick, and the urgent need to expand the fire department to cover the city's steep, expanding hillsides.
- Seattle’s Wholesale District Moves South
New buildings on South Second Street mark a major shift for Seattle's expanding trade economy.
- Kennewick Creamery Expands Territory and Market Reach
Local creamery reports an increase of nearly $40,000 over the previous year and successful expansion into the Seattle market.
- The Boomtown Myth of 1889
As Seattle entered the year of the Great Fire, the local press touted a narrative of unstoppable, 'solid' growth that masked the fragility of an exploding city.
- The Great Rebuilding: How the Great Seattle Fire Forced a Modern City
In the smoldering aftermath of the 1889 Great Seattle Fire, city leaders and engineers seized the catastrophe as a singular opportunity to abandon the crooked, cramped street grid for a rational, expanded future.
- The Railway Gold Rush: When Every Line Wanted a Piece of Seattle
In 1890, Seattle was the ultimate prize for three competing transcontinental railroads, leading to a tangled mess of franchise wars, tide flat terminal deals, and high-stakes corporate maneuvering.
- The Eight-Hour Day: Washington Becomes the First to Legislate Labor's Limits for Private Industry
In a landmark session at the Olympia legislature, lawmakers passed an unprecedented bill declaring eight hours a legal workday for all labor performed by or for corporations and individuals, not just public works.
- The Blueprint for a Growing City
Newly proposed amendments to the Seattle city charter reveal the administrative scaffolding behind the city's 1883 expansion, including fire department mandates and tax enforcement.
- 1892 Floods Isolate Renton and Snohomish Valley Farms
Torrents ravage the Duwamish and Snohomish valleys, washing out railroad lines and leaving towns like Renton and Sultan submerged.
- Great Northern Moves to Seize Downtown Blocks
The expanding railway network files suit to condemn an entire city block, displacing residents and businesses in the Whitechapel district.
- The Pulpit Versus the Saloon
Rev. Wallace Nutting denounces Seattle's 'reform' government for failing to regulate nightlife and corruption.
- Seattle Citizens Broke Ground on Their Own Railroad
How Seattle’s local investment and grit built a railroad when the Northern Pacific chose Tacoma.
- The Great Drain Struggle
Farmers from the Duwamish and Sammamish valleys rally to demand an expanded canal to solve recurring, devastating floods.
- The Tragic Cost of Seattle's Growth: The Death of C. Toellner
A tragic train accident at the Grant Street Bridge exposes the perils of Seattle’s rapidly expanding infrastructure in the late 1880s.
- Railroad Standoff at the Coal Bunkers
A high-stakes blockade at the Puget Sound waterfront reveals the tense territorial battles between the Great Northern and Northern Pacific lines.
- The City That Voted to Grow: Seattle's 1892 Infrastructure Bond Bonanza
In a massive, city-wide referendum, Seattle residents went to the polls in March 1892 to approve a sweeping expansion of water, sewer, and municipal works that literally laid the foundation for the modern city.
- The Great Road War: How Prosser Tried to Starve Kennewick’s Infrastructure
A proposed county-wide tax revolt threatens to halt road building in Benton County, sparking a fierce debate over rural equity and urban development in 1914.
- Seattle's 1891 Ballot: Annexation and $861,704 in Bonds
Before Seattle grew to its modern size, the city held a massive special election to decide the future of its neighboring townships and fund its expanding infrastructure.
- The Struggle for North Second Street
Business owners in 1886 Seattle argued that expanding streets into 'Chinese quarters' was the only way to modernize the city and attract capital.
- A House of Prayer for All the Nations
In 1892, Seattle's Congregation Ohaveth Sholom dedicated the first Jewish synagogue in Washington, filling the new sanctuary at Seventh and Seneca with Jews and Gentiles and with sermons that insisted the building must be more than stone and gold.
- Expanding Seattle's Waterfront for Global Trade
Local builders begin a massive wharf expansion project to accommodate the largest steamships on the Pacific.
- The Bid for Seattle’s First Dedicated High School
Voters face a critical decision on May 6th to fund a new building and land for Seattle's expanding secondary education system.
- The Real Estate Deal That Bought Silence on Vice
A lawsuit to shut down 'vicious dens' on A Street is dropped after a mysterious buyer purchases the property, raising concerns about city-sanctioned corruption.
- Seattle's Police Funding Fight
Debate rages in the City Council over whether to maintain an expanded police force, with councilmembers split on the necessity of high costs following recent civil unrest.
- Drafting the Future of the Duwamish
Prominent citizens and engineers gathered at the Chamber of Commerce to debate the future of Seattle's tide flats, laying the groundwork for the modern industrial harbor.
Also about this, in other words
- Everett Workers Plan Their Own Home
Local union members launch a stock drive to fund a permanent headquarters for the Everett Trades Council.
- The Brickyard Expansion: Fueling Seattle's Rapid Growth
As Seattle transitioned from a frontier outpost to a developing city, a local businessman secured a four-year lease on the city's primary brickyard to meet the surging demand for permanent construction materials.
- Harrington Harvester Company Expands Facilities
A significant local manufacturing expansion is underway with the construction of several new buildings to increase production capacity.
- Business Leaders Remonstrate Against Court Expansion
King County business firms petition the state legislature to block the creation of an additional Superior Court judge, citing unnecessary tax burdens.
- The Great Hall Swells: Democrats Gather for Their First Convention
A torrent of humanity floods the exposition hall as the national Democratic party begins its proceedings, with New York delegates plotting their strategic withdrawal.
- The Growing Divide: A 1889 Look at Wealth Inequality
A century before modern debates on income disparity, a Seattle newspaper reflected on a New York attorney's grim statistics concerning the extreme concentration of American wealth.
- Anything to Beat Stretch: The Whole County Ticket, Man by Man
The Sun walks Snohomish County's 1876 ballot from sheriff to coroner, and finds a whaling skipper turned pile-driver, a college-trained logger, and a sheriff whose enemies have a slogan of their own.
- Books for the Common Good
An anonymous businessman donates $100 in gold to expand the Y.M.C.A. reading room for the working men of Seattle.