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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 2 |
16 stories matching sprinkler
- The Commissioner and the Sprinkler
A city official goes door-to-door in the hill district to enforce water restrictions, with mixed results.
- The Wind That Spoke: Kennewick’s Dusty Plea for a Sprinkler Cart
A fierce Monday wind storm drove residents to subscribe to a new municipal sprinkler fund, proving that the battle against dust was won not by speeches, but by grit in the eyes.
- Tacoma’s Theaters Under Fire Safety Review
Building inspectors find local stages lacking modern fire protections, prompting calls for new safety ordinances.
- A Heartbreak by the Snohomish River
A lonely local man is caught in a 'melancholy case' of unrequited love, spending his days watering a hitching post in a lovestruck daze.
- Street Improvements Coming to Second Street
A new contract with a Walla Walla firm promises to modernize a major downtown corridor by May.
- City Council Rejects Lone Bid for Second Street Paving
Kennewick officials put the brakes on local street improvements after receiving a bid that far exceeded engineers' estimates.
- After the Fire: Rebuilding a Mill
O.W. Stetson discusses the cyclical reality of sawmill fires in early Seattle and the persistent struggle for fire safety in the local timber industry.
- The City's Experimental Bike Lane
Walla Walla tests a new $140 wooden bicycle path on Alder Street to solve the issue of rough cinder trails.
- The City's Sweeping Misjudgment
Seattle's street department decides that the best time to sweep streets is during a windstorm, leaving storefronts and pedestrians choked with debris.
- The Dust That Cost a Dollar: Kennewick’s Summer of Dry Streets
With city coffers empty and saloon licenses expired, the Commercial Club faces a parching summer. Will business owners pay for water, or let the dust settle?
- Seattle Rebuilds After the Great Fire
One week after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city pivots from emergency relief to a massive, coordinated reconstruction of the downtown core.
- The City’s Controversial Watering Hours
New city regulations for lawn sprinkling spark protests from North End residents who claim the schedule ignores the reality of their working hours.
- The Arsonist Who Burned the Books: A Tacoma Cover-Up?
An attempt to torch the U.S. Custom House in Port Townsend raises eyebrows as officials fear a whistleblower’s evidence of corruption was destroyed.
- The Water Inspector Who Shut Off Seattle’s Lawn Sprinklers
Seattle’s water superintendent cracks down on out-of-hours sprinkling on Renton Hill, turning off service until offenders pay—and finally restoring pressure.
- The Year Seattle's Water Department Turned Off the Sprinklers
Superintendent Andrew Jackson's 1894 report found savings in fuel and salaries, a 15 percent rate cut, and a citywide crackdown on irrigation scofflaws—plus thirty households that had never been billed.
- The Cable Car That Dodged a Runaway Electric—and the Lawsuit That Followed
A Madison Street cable car narrowly avoided a speeding Third Street electric car in 1893; passenger E. K. Marvin won $1,000 after a second trial over his sprained ankle.