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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
20 stories matching kilbourn
- The Great Wire War: How Seattle’s Electric Giants Tried to Buy Their Way Out of the Underground
When the City Council threatened to bury power lines underground, Union Electric and Consumers’ Electric screamed ruin. But the real drama wasn't the wires—it was the council dodging a crowd of gamblers and churchgoers demanding saloon closures.
- The Night Seattle Fought Over Its Streetlights
A special meeting of the Board of Aldermen turns into a tense negotiation with the Union Electric Company over the terms, safeguards and cost of lighting the city.
- Starvation Wages and a Broken Light Contract: Seattle's Lower House Erupts
Delegates demand answers on Pike Street paving, city jobs parceled out by foremen, Kilbourne Avenue subcontracting, and the gas-electric company's failure to light the city.
- The Pioneer Who Built Fremont’s First Home
Hugh Russell, a central figure in early Fremont, died while milking a cow, leaving a legacy of community infrastructure that still shapes the neighborhood today.
- The Struggle for Streetlights
A heated debate erupts in city council over a new contract with the Union Electric Company, revealing tensions over public service, penalties, and infrastructure quality.
- The Forgotten Fight for Proportional Representation
In 1891, a Walla Walla thinker proposed a radical 'preferential system' to break the grip of party bosses and end the buying and selling of votes in Washington.
- Laundry Monopoly Targets Chinese Competitors
A newly formed interstate association of laundry owners eyes a coordinated campaign against Chinese-run businesses while resisting union wage demands.
- A Hospital for the Poor, Not the Pauper House: Seattle General Prepares to Open
The Seattle General Hospital will open June 15 in the leased Avon house on Front Street, offering free treatment to the needy and a training school for nurses—backed by a women's auxiliary that has already raised funds through lunchrooms.
- The City Wharf as a Stone Yard: Seattle's Plan to Put Its Idle Men to Work
A petition signed by dozens of prominent Seattle businessmen asks the city council to turn the waterfront into a public stone yard, trading honest labor for meals and lodging — and to run the beggars out of town.
- The Great Seattle Canal Subscription Scandal
Prominent business leaders expose the local newspaper's fabricated list of wealthy donors to the Lake Washington ship canal project.
- The City Council Moves to Bond Seattle’s Growing Pains
A marathon session sees the council pushing to fund infrastructure—including an electric plant—to cover mounting municipal debt.
- The University Is Coming. Where Will the Students Live?
With no dormitories planned for the new Union Bay campus, Seattle wonders whether streetcars and spare bedrooms can absorb 600 students by September.
- The Odd Fellows' Missing $144.15: A Treasurer's Fall From Grace
Henry A. Swift, a Fremont mill worker and lodge treasurer, is charged with embezzling $144.15 after a shutdown left his family in need.
- Seattle’s Streets Were Still Mostly Wood—Until the Brick Came
With 750 miles platted and only 106 improved, city engineers pushed permanent pavement on Union Street and dreamed of brick from local clay.
- A Hospital Takes Shape in a Rented Building
A charitable board leases the Avon building near Cedar Street and calls on churchwomen to furnish and oversee Seattle’s new general hospital.
- Seattle Council Pushes Back on Streetcar Franchises
Electric railway companies plead poverty to avoid mandated street lighting, prompting a civic showdown over franchise obligations.
- Three Light Plants Become One, With a Promise of Cheap Electricity
The Union Electric Company and the Seattle Gas & Electric Light Company have merged into the Union Illumination Company. Boilers are being hauled to the Grant Street bridge powerhouse, and the new manager says rate cuts are two weeks away.
- Seattle Tries to Halve Its Street-Light Bill
A council debate over arc versus incandescent lamps exposed ward rivalries and a fight over how much control the city should keep over a private lighting contract.
- A Fist Shaken in Open Court
A reputation suit turns personal when a witness calls the defense attorney a liar — then threatens him on his way off the stand.
- The Real Estate Broker’s Pink Wedding: A Seattle Socialite’s Grand Entrance
In January 1895, C.H. Kittinger, a prominent local real estate broker, announced his engagement to Miss Whitney of Montreal at an elaborate reception on Fifth and Columbia streets, signaling the height of Seattle's Gilded Age social scene.