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| 1876 | 54 |
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607 stories matching wharf
- The Wharf War on Taylor Street
A legal tug-of-war breaks out as the Union Wharf Company tries to block the Hastings family from accessing the waterfront, setting a precedent for public street rights in early Seattle.
- After a Wharf Collapse, a Call for City Inspectors
W.A. Harrington wants Seattle to hire a wharf inspector with power to inspect piling, force repairs and arrest dilatory owners—paid for by an assessment on the wharves themselves.
- The Steamship San Pedro’s Wharf-Crushing Accident
A steamship failed to stop at its Seattle wharf, plowing into the structure and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
- A Wharf Foreman Tied an Iron Bar to His Neck and Stepped Into the Bay
James Mobley, foreman for the Port Blakely Mill Company, left his hat on the wharf as the only clue — a private collapse in a company mill town.
- Expanding Seattle's Waterfront for Global Trade
Local builders begin a massive wharf expansion project to accommodate the largest steamships on the Pacific.
- The Waterfront Thief's Abandoned Skiff
A night watchman at Johnson's Mill seeks the owner of a small boat left behind by two arrested wharf-thieves.
- The Monopoly of Water: A Seattleite’s Outrage Over Yesler’s Wharf
In 1877, a local citizen confronted the city's most powerful industrialist over his claim to the waterfront, sparking a debate about public access and private power that echoes in Seattle today.
- Steamer Collision at Yesler's Wharf
The steamer State of Washington smashed into the docked Cascade, nearly destroying the smaller vessel in a chaotic wharf-side accident.
- The Harbor Master's War with the Steamer E.W. Purdy
A standoff at the Commercial wharf leads to a municipal court battle over who truly controls the waterfront.
- Furniture Factory Nearly Lost to Waterfront Fire
Firefighters battle a stubborn blaze beneath the old Mechanics' Wharf after flames broke out under a newly opened mattress and furniture factory.
- Ship Strikes Seattle Wharf in Gusty Storm
A sudden gust of wind slams a ship into a Seattle wharf, destroying cargo and prompting a liability dispute.
- The Steamer Fanny Gets Stuck on a Wharf
A routine docking in Seattle goes wrong when the tide turns, leaving a steamer mangled and its captain scrambling for repairs.
- The Wharf, the Steamer, and the Grudge
A Puget Sound steamer damages Steilacoom's private wharf; the repairs are made, but the landings become a running feud between a steamboat captain and the town.
- The Wharf, the Steamer, and the Line Between Land and Sea
A steamer strains at her lines and damages a warehouse on Gilman’s Wharf. Judge Hanford says the case belongs in admiralty court because the injury happened over Elliott Bay.
- 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 Narrow Escape of the Ship Spartan
A historic vessel remains in Port Townsend Bay, a survivor of a devastating waterfront fire that nearly cost its captain his life.
- The Dog Who Drowned Twice: A Seattle Tragedy in the Slip
A large black Newfoundland met a bizarre and fatal end at Stone & Wharf last week, plunging into the water twice in a spasm of terror before being rescued by witnesses.
- The Waterfront Rescue
When two boys tumbled into the cold waters of the Seattle wharf, the indifference of the crowd stood in sharp contrast to one man's bravery.
- City Eyes New Municipal Dock
Tacoma moves toward funding a public wharf to support local business growth.
- The Hustle of the 1889 Waterfront
Before the skyline, Seattle's heartbeat was the chaotic, cargo-filled rhythm of the piers and the brick-laden schooners arriving from Portland.
- A Massive New Gateway for Seattle
The Oregon Improvement Company prepares to construct a giant, copper-clad wharf to accommodate ocean steamers.
- The Hidden Destroyer of Seattle’s Waterfront
In 1877, Seattle property owners faced a silent maritime menace: a wood-boring mollusk called the 'Teredo' that could collapse a wharf from the inside out.
- The War on the Wharf-Eating Teredo
After five years of experimentation, a Seattle developer discovers that creosoted piles are the only way to save the city's waterfront from the voracious wood-boring mollusk.
- The Wharf That Ate Its Workers: Seattle’s First Major Infrastructure Failure
In September 1876, a newly built lumber wharf in Seattle collapsed under the weight of its own laborers, sending Chinese workers and timber plunging into the Duwamish River. The disaster exposed the rotting reality of territorial construction and the precarious lives of immigrant labor.
- The Great Reconstruction: Seattle Rebuilds from the Ashes
Just weeks after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, hundreds of laborers mobilize to clear debris and reconstruct the city’s vital infrastructure.