Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 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.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 10 |
| 1876 | 18 |
| 1877 | 19 |
| 1878 | 18 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 23 |
| 1884 | 13 |
| 1885 | 15 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 11 |
| 1888 | 12 |
| 1889 | 39 |
| 1891 | 24 |
| 1892 | 35 |
| 1893 | 39 |
| 1894 | 29 |
| 1895 | 45 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 17 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1929 | 4 |
399 stories matching limit
- The Saloon Turf War: Seattle's 1891 Zoning Scandal
A surprise move by the Board of Aldermen to eliminate limits on where liquor could be sold triggers a fierce public outcry against perceived civic corruption.
- The Supreme Court Rules on Street Grading Liability
The Washington State Supreme Court clarifies the statute of limitations for damage claims against the City of Seattle.
- The Battle Over the Plummer House
Mayor Ronald blocks a city ordinance that would have extended liquor limits to a specific building, sparking a public outcry from residents and churchgoers.
- Seattle's Filipino Editors Draw a Line: Restrict Us If You Must — But Never Shut Us Out
As agitation builds in Congress to bar Filipinos from the mainland, the editors of Seattle's Filipino Forum weigh the Johnson bill and conclude that a quota, however bitter, is preferable to outright exclusion — which they call an imperialist injustice.
- The Milk Riots: How Seattle’s Dairymen Threatened to Spike Prices Over a Dog Ban
When the city council proposed banning pigs and limiting livestock to three cows per family, local dairy farmers didn't just complain—they warned that milk prices would skyrocket to 15 cents a quart.
- The City Could Still Take the Land
Judge Humes ruled that Seattle’s constitutional debt limit does not interfere with eminent domain, clearing the way for the Howell Street extension through the Ivey property.
- The Monopoly of Water: A Seattleite’s Outrage Over Yesler’s Wharf
In 1877, a local citizen confronted the city's most powerful industrialist over his claim to the waterfront, sparking a debate about public access and private power that echoes in Seattle today.
- The City Council’s Fireproofing Farce: How Seattle’s ‘Renovations’ Are Destroying Property Values
An editorial scolds the local government for allowing cheap, temporary repairs to old buildings within fire limits, arguing that these 'shells' are disfiguring the business district and raising insurance rates for everyone.
- The Steamboat That Carried Too Many
A legal dispute over overcrowding on the Seattle-Tacoma run exposes the strict—and often ignored—limits placed on Puget Sound steam travel in 1888.
- After the Fire, A New Blueprint for Seattle
When the flames destroyed the commercial district, city leaders fought to enforce strict building codes to prevent a repeat of the disaster.
- The Taxation Trap: How Seattle’s Liquor Licenses Were Feeding the County, Not the City
In 1876, a territorial newspaper railed against a fiscal injustice: Seattle taxpayers were footing the bill for policing and street maintenance, while the county kept the revenue from liquor licenses sold within city limits.
- The Price of Public Safety
City council debates delaying fire limits due to high brick costs.
- The City Council's Permissive Grift
A frustrated fire official reveals that Seattle's fire safety ordinances are being gutted by the very council members who passed them, as they issue private permits to bypass building restrictions.
- Rising from the Ashes: The Great Seattle Fire of 1888
While the downtown core smoldered, Seattle citizens gathered in the courthouse—lit by tallow dips—to demand a modern city of brick and stone, rejecting makeshift wooden shacks and dreaming of a reconstructed metropolis.
- The Policing of Lake Union’s Wild Frontiers
Early Seattleites living near Lake Union demanded a policeman to stop the frequent, dangerous gunfire by 'amateur sportsmen' near their homes.
- Ballard Votes to Pay the Piper
A special election in the young city of Ballard clears the three-fifths bar to fund debts that ran about $3,000 past the legal limit.
- The Battle Against the Fire Limits
A Seattle property owner races to build a wooden structure before new city fire regulations take hold.
- The Fight to Fireproof Downtown
A Seattle neighborhood, built entirely of wood, fears a catastrophic blaze and petitions the city for a stone mandate.
- Who Should Pay for the City's Infrastructure?
Facing a debt crisis following the Great Seattle Fire, city officials in 1891 debated whether to shift the mounting costs of sewer construction from the public treasury onto the backs of individual property owners.
- The Struggle for Tax Equity in 1876
A Seattle editorial argues that delinquent property taxes and legal loopholes are placing an unfair burden on the public, demanding legislative reform for the growing territory.
- Eight Dead, and the Steamboat Owners Owe Only $3,500
A federal judge in Seattle limits the Annie Faxon's liability after a Snake River boiler explosion, extending an old maritime rule to inland steamboats.
- The Bankers’ Bailout for City Debt
Seattle’s financial elite push for state intervention to retroactively legalize city debt incurred in excess of the constitutional limit.
- The Hog Ranch That Stank Up Seattle: How One Interbay Farm Sparked a New Law
In 1900, a single hog ranch near the city’s water source forced the Seattle City Council to draft an ordinance limiting livestock—a rare early victory for urban sanitation and public health.
- The Wild Deer of Lake Washington
As the fishing season wanes, local sportsmen find unexpected game within city limits as deer wander into the urban landscape.
- The Policeman and the Crow
A city police officer is dismissed from the force after firing his revolver within city limits to shoot at a crow, leading to a disciplinary hearing.