Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 16 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1882 | 7 |
| 1883 | 23 |
| 1884 | 10 |
| 1885 | 13 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 10 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 66 |
| 1890 | 8 |
| 1891 | 30 |
| 1892 | 42 |
| 1893 | 48 |
| 1894 | 20 |
| 1895 | 27 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 11 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 12 |
| 1904 | 17 |
| 1905 | 4 |
| 1908 | 10 |
| 1909 | 24 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
455 stories matching structur
- The Great Moss Panic of 1878
Seattle's early city council once declared war on rooftop greenery to prevent the city from burning down.
- The New Face of Main Street
A wooden 'temporary' structure goes up at the corner of Main and Second, drawing both praise for its utility and a critique of Seattle's lack of permanent masonry.
- Spokane's New Municipal Building Lost in Fire
The nearly completed city hall, a $100,000 project, was gutted by a blaze that started from a plumber's tarpot.
- The City’s New Face
Architect W. E. Boone unveils ambitious plans for a massive brick residence and new commercial structures, signaling a construction boom in Seattle.
- Teredo Worms Cut a Seattle Wharf Adrift
A shipworm-weakened pier at the foot of Dearborn Street collapsed into Elliott Bay, sending a warehouse down with a crash and leaving the wreckmaster to haul a floating dock back to shore.
- The Iron Shed Rebellion
After the Great Seattle Fire, one man defies new building codes by erecting corrugated iron structures in the fire-restricted zone, triggering a city-wide showdown over safety and property rights.
- The End of Wooden Seattle
A historic property deal marks a turning point as Seattle trades its 'dilapidated, squatty, and dangerous' wooden storefronts for modern, multi-story brick architecture.
- The Unlucky Blacksmith of Front Street
A routine building project in early Seattle ends in a chaotic tumble as a blacksmith shop collapses, sending tools and timber into the thoroughfare.
- After the Great Flood, a New Span for the Snoqualmie
Following the destruction of the old wooden crossing, the county moves to replace the link at the Snoqualmie hop ranch with a modern iron structure.
- Everett Eyes the 'Commission Plan' for City Government
Following a lecture by a Spokane commissioner, Everett citizens push to abandon ward politics in favor of a new municipal structure.
- Oroville Claims a Home for City Hall
After years of paying rent and storing the fire engine in a local saloon, Oroville officials secure land for a permanent municipal headquarters.
- The Crumbling Capitol Gets a Patch-Up
As legislators prepare for the 1893 session, the barn-like structure in Olympia receives a new roof and a desperately needed expansion.
- The Rising Brick Skyline of Early Seattle
As Schwabacher Brothers prepares a massive new brick warehouse on Commercial Street, the city celebrates its shift from wooden frame town to a permanent commercial hub.
- The Corpse, the Fire, and the Vanishing Policy
William Radloff disappeared after putting a corpse in his house and torching the structure. With his life-insurance policy now lapsed, his wife has filed no claim—leaving Seattle to wonder what really happened.
- A Massive New Gateway for Seattle
The Oregon Improvement Company prepares to construct a giant, copper-clad wharf to accommodate ocean steamers.
- The Changing Face of Front Street
Seattle's wooden buildings are vanishing, replaced by permanent brick structures as the city matures.
- The Phantom Arsonist of Queen Anne Hill
A grand residence on Highland Drive vanishes in a blaze, leaving investigators to wonder if a spurned enemy, a clumsy painter, or a spontaneous chemical reaction fueled the inferno.
- The Seattle Iron Works Tragedy
A devastating structural collapse and fire at a downtown factory leaves dozens of workers dead or critically injured in a haunting industrial disaster.
- Defending the Bridge Against the Similkameen
As the spring flood swells the Similkameen River, residents fear the 'multitudinous battering ram' of drift wood will destroy the town's primary crossing.
- Will Aberdeen Get a Grand Hotel or Just More Offices?
Prominent developers W. P. Book and Samuel Benn are ready to construct a massive, fireproof building on Heron Street, but the ultimate purpose of the structure remains a local question.
- Seattle's Burnt District Rebuilds in Brick After 1889 Fire
Following the Great Seattle Fire, the city's burnt district transforms as brick blocks replace wooden ruins and the city plans for a modern infrastructure.
- Seattle’s Rebirth After the Great Fire
While the embers of the 1889 Great Fire were still cooling, the city's architects and business leaders immediately began a frenzied, organized effort to rebuild the commercial district in brick and stone.
- Seattle’s Housing Crisis: Brick by Brick, Room by Room
As the city races to build new brick structures on Second and Smith Streets, officials warn that even these new constructions won't be enough to stop rents from skyrocketing.
- A Fiery Catastrophe at the Tacoma Mill
A newly installed furnace at the Tacoma Mill overheated with such intensity that its massive iron stack melted and collapsed, narrowly missing the workers nearby.
- The Case for Concrete
Tacoma voters decide on a $375,000 bond issue to replace decaying wooden bridges with permanent concrete structures.