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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
25 stories matching mortar
- Seattle Throws Its Hat in the Ring for a Federal Gun Works
Washington, Oregon and California are all angling for the new Pacific coast ordnance factory, and Seattle is already lobbying — with Senator Squire arguing that Puget Sound's new dry dock settles the matter.
- The Seattle Skyline’s Growing Pains
Developers and City Council clash over property rights, railroad access, and the birth of a brick-and-mortar downtown.
- The Fire Ordinance of 1892
New city laws mandate fireproof construction materials in North Yakima's central business district to protect against catastrophic loss.
- The City Can Tear It Down: The Supreme Court Backs Seattle's Fire Limits
Daniel K. Baxter put up a twenty-foot shell of wooden posts wrapped in corrugated iron inside Seattle's fire limits. The state Supreme Court said the city could knock it down without ever going to court — and municipal building codes came out of it stronger than before.
- Worker Injured in Elevator Shaft Fall
A mortar man narrowly survives a thirty-foot plummet at the construction site of the Cadwell building.
- A Near Disaster on the Waterfront
A fire in a Front Street lunch counter nearly consumes the business district after city officials neglected to enforce fire safety ordinances.
- The Rotting Schoolhouse
A local mechanic alerts the city to a school building construction so shoddy it was doomed to collapse.
- The Wild Carriage Ride Down Commercial Street
A frightened team of horses turned a routine ride into a violent, smashing spectacle, leaving passengers bloody and onlookers breathless.
- A Legislative Committee Finds the University of Washington Packed, Broke, and Worth Building
After touring the cramped old campus and the rising new grounds between Lake Union and Lake Washington, a joint legislative committee urges bonds, more books, a smaller board of regents, and a dry zone around the university.
- The Great Seattle Boom: $2 Million in Brick and Mortar
Architects and owners promise a wave of substantial construction that will transform Second Street into the city's new business heart, leaving Front Street behind.
- Defective Sewer Construction in the Third Ward
Accusations of corruption and shoddy craftsmanship arise as city officials are caught using undersized rods and poor brickwork on public projects.
- Life in the Yakima Prospecting Camps
A vivid look at the daily grit, dashed hopes, and stubborn optimism of the men digging for fortunes in the upper Natchees.
- Runaway Carriage Strikes Pedestrians
A young brother and sister are injured after being struck by a runaway horse and buggy on Columbia Street.
- A Power Station to Light Newport
The Northern Idaho & Montana Power Co. is building a $15,000 fireproof office and substation at Washington and Pine, promising 24-hour electric service within ninety days.
- The Struggle for a Fire-Proof Seattle
In 1876, a local editor warns that Seattle’s reliance on wood-frame architecture is a dangerous gamble for a growing city.
- The Plan to Ring Puget Sound With Forts—and Put Big Guns on Magnolia Bluff
A federal fortification scheme would turn Magnolia Bluff, Admiralty Inlet and Marrowstone Point into a defensive ring around the new Port Orchard navy yard—if Congress paid for it.
- Seattle's Grand New Courthouse Plans Unveiled
Architect Isaac Palmer presents a bold, brick-and-mortar vision for the corner of Third and Jefferson, signaling the city's aspirations for civic permanence.
- The Jailbreak That Never Was: A Seattle Jail Security Crisis
When guards discovered tunneling and hidden tools in the city jail, the potential for a mass breakout triggered a city-wide security lockdown.
- The Bee-Keeper's Underground Cellar
A local apiarist shares his experimental method for keeping bees alive through the cold Washington winters using subterranean chambers.
- Searching for the University’s Past
Pioneers dig up the 1861 cornerstone of the old University of Washington building to reclaim its secrets.
- A Frontier City That Could Not Stop Building
Brick blocks, storefronts, and frame houses rose across Spokane Falls as contractors raced winter—and touted the town's future.
- The Struggle to Keep Seattle Clean in 1888
As Seattle prepared for a massive influx of tourists for a summer celebration, one citizen publicly shamed the city's leadership for allowing its streets to remain a cluttered, hazardous mess of construction debris.
- The Judge Says the School Board Can Spend the Building Levy on Anything It Likes
A resident of the newly annexed district sued to force Seattle's school money into bricks and mortar only. Judge Osborn dissolved the injunction, sustained the board's demurrer, and sent the plaintiffs back to rewrite their complaint.
- The Transient Merchant Problem
A group of clothing peddlers skips town, leaving local brick-and-mortar merchants to foot the tax bill.
- The Cheap Alternative to Pavement
A visionary proposes using straw to harden dusty, alkali-laden country roads for wheat transport.
Also about this, in other words
- Firing Up for the Building Boom
Veteran brick maker J.S. McAllister gears up to turn the Duwamish riverbank into the foundation for Seattle's next wave of construction.
- Blasting Beneath 14th and A
Contractor C.D. Elmore is drilling into cement gravel to carve out a new foundation for a downtown landmark.
- The New Jewel of the Seattle Skyline
A descriptive look at the newly completed Yesler-Leary block, a state-of-the-art brick edifice at the corner of Mill and Front streets.
- Turning Sawdust into Stone
An innovative German industrial method promises to transform Aberdeen's abundant sawmill waste into fireproof, durable building bricks.
- 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 Artisans of the Foundation
A glimpse into the heavy labor and craftsmanship that quite literally built the streets and structures of early Seattle.
- A Senator’s Gift of Stone
Senator Watson C. Squire offers the city free rock from his Duwamish River quarries to help jumpstart local street paving efforts.
- The Rise of Artificial Stone
A local entrepreneur transforms Lynden's construction landscape with a new concrete block plant that promises to revolutionize architecture.