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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 22 |
| 1877 | 12 |
| 1878 | 9 |
| 1879 | 1 |
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| 1882 | 1 |
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| 1889 | 35 |
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306 stories matching progress
- The Unseen Cost of Modern Progress
An editorial from 1890 reflects on the plight of the unemployed and the friction between the 'well-fed' and the hungry during Seattle’s rapid industrial expansion.
- Saying Goodbye to Seattle's Finest Residence
A historic home, once the city’s grandest, is rolled away to make room for progress.
- The Populist Editor, the Divorce, and the Cruelty Charge
Norah Morrow sues P. Frank Morrow of the Ballard Progress for divorce, alleging years of abuse and a refusal to support their three children.
- The Persistent Business of Superstition
An editorial from 1877 examines why, despite the march of progress and the printing press, humanity remained obsessed with palmistry, spiritualism, and bad omens.
- The Rails That Built Seattle
Civic leaders convene to expand the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad, the ambitious line designed to link the growing city to the bounty of the east.
- The Fight Over Tribal Land in the Path of Progress
Booster newspapers in 1889 editorialized against the reservation system, calling for the seizure of Indigenous land to satisfy a hungry real estate market.
- Digging the Portage Canal
A progress report on the ambitious project to connect Lake Washington and Lake Union by a man-made waterway.
- The City Holds Its Breath for Cleveland
Seattle crowds swarm the Post-Intelligencer bulletin board to witness the 1892 Democratic nomination, turning a distant Chicago event into a local spectacle.
- Frustration Grows Over Seattle's 'Dual Council' Gridlock
A citizen writes to the Post-Intelligencer complaining that the newly adopted dual-house city government is stalling local street improvements and stifling progress.
- The Old Song of Reactionary Politics
A 1891 editorial draws a biting parallel between resistance to child protection laws in India and the stalling tactics of anti-progressives in the American West.
- Streetcar Company Rejects City's Terms
The West Street and North End Electric Railway Company refuses a franchise extension, citing 'unreasonable' conditions imposed by the city council.
- Ex-Governor Ferry’s Case for Washington
Former Governor Elisha Ferry compares Washington’s explosive growth to California’s stagnation, arguing that railroads are the lifeblood of civic progress.
- The Shadow Over Seattle's Growth
A look at the 1876 struggle between the promise of development and the ‘incubus’ of land monopolies.
- A Sewer Scheme Built on Incompetence
Citizens and taxpayers are calling out the city's reckless mismanagement of sewer construction projects downtown.
- The Price of 'Progress' at the Turn of the Century
A Seattle property owner battles the city over grading costs she claims amount to 'almost confiscation' of her land.
- The Sewer Under Beacon Hill
After quicksand, floods and a costly detour, Seattle’s South Tunnel is weeks from completion—and somehow still inside its $100,000 budget.
- The Shipyard That Moved: How Hall Brothers Brought 500 Jobs to Seattle
As the nation debates tariffs and statehood, a major industrial shift is reshaping Seattle's economy. The country's largest shipbuilding firm has relocated its operations here, promising an immediate influx of workers and capital.
- The Rising Forests of Belltown
A 1875 dispatch captures a neighborhood in metamorphosis, as the deep woods of Belltown are rapidly cleared to make way for cozy cottages and the expansion of Seattle.
- The Perilous Afternoon of a Seattle Homeowner
A classic tale of a homeowner's frustration with construction progress takes a literal turn when he gets stranded on his own scaffolding, sparking a tense negotiation with a neighborhood boy.
- The Boomtown Myth of 1889
As Seattle entered the year of the Great Fire, the local press touted a narrative of unstoppable, 'solid' growth that masked the fragility of an exploding city.
- The City That Outgrew Its Rivals
An 1885 dispatch from the front lines of the Seattle boom describes a town shedding its humble roots and leaving former neighbors like Steilacoom in the dust.
- The Unbearable Stench of Progress
A 1888 editorial calls out the Seattle city council for ignoring the 'offensive' and 'stagnant' state of city streets that 'suffocate the unfortunate individual who ventures into public'.
- The Church Looks Toward Puget Sound
Methodist leaders convene in Vancouver to strategize church expansion and infrastructure across the Pacific Northwest.
- The Dredgers Are Coming: Seattle's Canal Project Finally Starts Moving
After years of financing delays, engineers promised to begin bulkheads and surveys on the south canal—and to haul giant hydraulic dredgers north to reshape the tide flats.
- 1878 Seattle Grapples With Nationwide Money Shortage
While 1878 brought economic panic across the nation, Seattleites rejected the idea that their town was failing, pointing to local grit and coal-laden wharves as the true engines of progress.
Also about this, in other words
- Clearing the Tracks for Progress
A deal is struck between city industry and the railroad to move a major obstacle, clearing the way for new lines.