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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 3 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 17 |
| 1877 | 13 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 18 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 10 |
| 1886 | 7 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 9 |
| 1889 | 24 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 13 |
| 1892 | 24 |
| 1893 | 22 |
| 1894 | 21 |
| 1895 | 38 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1903 | 7 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 6 |
| 1909 | 9 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
303 stories matching foundat
- Sixty Houses in One Season
Newport's 1908 ledger of construction: sixty residences raised or under way, a three-story hotel foundation at Washington and Second, and a lumber mill going up across the river.
- The Navy's $600,000 Question: Was the Dry Dock Built on Bad Piles?
A special commission of Army engineers is rushed to Puget Sound to test whether the navy's new dry dock was built on bad piling and inferior concrete.
- The Vashon Island Cornerstone
On a Tuesday in May, island residents gathered to lay the foundation for the first Methodist Episcopal Church on Vashon Island, embedding a time capsule of 1886 history into the earth.
- The House That Slid Down the Hill
A ramshackle boarding house on Main Street collapses after heavy rains and poor construction send it sliding down an unstable Seattle hillside.
- New Water Infrastructure Fails Foundation Test
A newly completed 50,000-gallon standpipe in Isaacs' Addition begins to lean under its own weight, leaving residents without service.
- The Brick Blocks That Told Olympia It Had Arrived
In 1891, three pressed-brick buildings rose along Olympia’s business streets—and boosters read them as proof the wooden capital was becoming a real city.
- Fire Shuts Down Hadlock Mill
A boiler room fire on a gravel foundation halts production at the Washington Mill Company, idling 100 men.
- Carving the Foundation for the World's Fair
The Cosmopolis mill is busy prepping massive logs to form the foundation of the Washington state building at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
- The Day Washington Was Born: A City Holds Its Breath
As the nation celebrates statehood, Seattle gathers in a packed hall to hear speeches on liberty, land fraud, and the future of the 'Queen City.'
- The School Land That Was Salted With Gold
Washington's attorney general told the Interior Department that a claimant had planted jeweler's gold in gravel from a Pierce County school section to turn public land into a mine.
- The Navy Secretary Goes Down Into the Big Hole
Secretary of the Navy Herbert rides the lighthouse tender Manzanita across the Sound to inspect the giant new dry dock at Port Orchard, settles a bitter dispute over how deep to drive the pilings, and dances the night away at the Rainier.
- King County Hires Outside Auditors to Chase 'Dark Hints' in the Treasury
Commissioners order a four-year examination of the treasurer's books, over the protest of the prosecuting attorney who wanted his own expert on the committee.
- A Panic Year Boom: Newport Built Through Hard Times
Despite a national financial panic, Newport added 87 homes, six concrete business blocks, new depots, churches, and a reshaped downtown—proud evidence of a town betting on itself.
- The Land is Moving Beneath the Mills
As Seattle's waterfront expansion struggles against unstable geology, a sash and door factory is forced to shutter as the hillside slips toward the bay.
- The Unstable Foundations of Early Seattle
When aggressive development on the Masonic lot caused a prominent brick building on Front Street to crack, it revealed the high-stakes risk of early Seattle’s rapid expansion.
- The Seattle Rail Boom of 1888
A massive new contract with a Canadian firm promises to connect Seattle to the transcontinental rail line, fueling the city's rapid, foundation-building growth.
- Seattle's Unstable Foundation
Filling in the city's tide lands and marshy spots creates a precarious base for new buildings.
- 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.
- A Violent Storm Strikes the Yakima Valley
High winds leveled buildings and tore heavy equipment from foundations in a storm that locals described as a true tornado.
- The Building That Fell Down
Owners and contractors are locked in a court battle over the construction of a brick building at Third and Washington that collapsed during its assembly.
- The $100,000,000 Fruit Crop Looks for a Fair Price
Northwest growers draft a cooperative marketing contract, and White Bluffs-area orchardists are summoned to Hanford to hear the plan.
- The Power Station That Bet on Newport’s Future
A Chicago engineer brings plans for a fireproof power station at Washington and Pine—and a 30-mile line meant to electrify Newport’s future.
- The Dream That Cracked the Theft Case
A jailed boarder's dream led police to a stolen gold watch and chain hidden under foundation blocks.
- The Peril of the Company Town
An 1887 editorial warns that Tacoma’s prosperity is built on a dangerous, fragile foundation: the sole favor of a single corporation.
- 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.
Also about this, in other words
- A Grim Discovery on the Beach at Ocosta
A local man searching for driftwood finds human remains near the site of a past tragedy.