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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1895 | 2 |
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| 1903 | 4 |
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21 stories matching macadam
- Main Street Refuses to Be Paved
Property owners between Fifth and Sixth beat back a macadam upgrade, a councilman berates them for it, and the street gets planks instead.
- The Crumbling Promise of Kennewick's Paving
A Walla Walla contractor inspects Kennewick’s failing street improvements and suggests a costly fix to save the city's new oil macadam.
- The Fight for a Practical Highway
Local farmers and business owners clash with state planners over the expensive materials chosen for the Kennewick-Finley road.
- Kennewick's Street Improvement Fiasco
After building roads with dirt and sand over oiled gravel, the City Council calls in an expert to fix the crumbling infrastructure.
- The Cheap Alternative to Pavement
A visionary proposes using straw to harden dusty, alkali-laden country roads for wheat transport.
- The Paving of the Finley Road
Benton County commissioners upgrade infrastructure plans from gravel to asphalt for the new state highway.
- A Municipal Solution for the Unemployed
City and county officials propose a public stone yard to provide work for the unemployed and discourage begging.
- The Campaign for Wide-Tired Wagons
A push for state legislation to mandate wider wagon tires to preserve Washington's rural roads from destruction.
- City Council Demands Better Streets
After contractors repeatedly ignored demands to fix decaying pavement, Tacoma officials threaten to use bond money to perform the repairs themselves.
- Walla Walla’s Great Paving Debate
Business owners and city officials clash over how to fix the city's mud-choked downtown streets.
- The Pioneer Struggle to Pave Commercial Street
Before it was the bustling core of Pioneer Square, Seattle’s Commercial Street was a rough-hewn stretch of dirt and mud in dire need of basic infrastructure.
- Why Aren't We Paved?
A look at the clean, brick-paved streets of Victoria, British Columbia, leaves locals wondering why Walla Walla still lacks a single block of pavement.
- Seattle's Streets Were Made of Wood. The Fight to Pave Them Was On.
A City Council vote for brick on Pike Street signaled the end of makeshift plank roads—if Seattle could stomach the first cost.
- City Neglect Leaves Walla Walla Streets in 'Abominable' Condition
Citizens and business owners plead for repairs to East Alder Street and local alleys, warning of potential lawsuits over property damage.
- The City Streets Are Now Bottomless Mud Pits
Walla Walla business owners urge the city to scrape the main thoroughfares, claiming current conditions are worse than those found in small country villages.
- The Price of Progress: A 1892 Look at Seattle's Infrastructure Boom
A legislative overhaul of Seattle’s city charter reveals the city's early struggle to balance growth, infrastructure improvements, and the complex burden of local tax assessments.
- The Muddy Reputation of Walla Walla
A visiting eastern capitalist vows never to return after enduring the city's 'abominable' streets, sparking a local debate on infrastructure and civic pride.
- The City Council Sets Rules for Seattle’s Streetcars
A new ordinance dictates how street railways will operate, mandating street paving, track maintenance, and fare standards to protect the public interest.
- The Snowbound Expedition to Find a Cascade Pass
State road commissioners and a private party set out from Whatcom County to discover a practical route over the Baker Range, with three feet of snow already on the ground and no certainty a pass exists.
- A 28-Mile Dream Road Between Seattle and Tacoma
A landowner's 1895 letter urges the legislature to charter a direct highway from South Park through Des Moines to Tacoma, selling it as relief for the unemployed, a check on speculators and the making of the 'Twin Cities of Puget Sound.'
- The Town Where Horses Wore Wooden Shoes
La Conner grew slowly on a rocky knoll in the Skagit delta, diked its tidal flats, and shipped out hay by the ton—while its horses clumped through spring mud in wooden moccasins.