The Shadow of the Lake Union Tunnel
After years of obsession with a major public works project, a retired worker takes his own life during a period of deepening despondency.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
James Parry committed suicide yesterday morning at the residence of his son-in-law, John Haley, 2115 Fourth street, North Seattle, by shooting himself through the head with a revolver. The cause is attributed to a nervous breakdown. For a long time until eight months ago, Mr. Parry was employed on the Lake Union tunnel. He became much interested in the work and was correspondingly pleased in proportion as it advanced. Even since he stopped working, the same interest was manifest. A few weeks ago, he suddenly became despondent and, when asked what was the trouble, replied that he did not know. He was a man of nervous temperament, and was so much interested in the Lake Union tunnel that one would have thought its success was more to him individually than to the city as a whole. Mr. Parry was 54 years old and a native of Wales. He had previously lived at Newcastle and was working there when the labor riots occurred. He leaves a son, George B. Parry, an engineer in the fire department, and two daughters.
“He was a man of nervous temperament, and was so much interested in the Lake Union tunnel that one would have thought its success was more to him individually than to the city as a whole.”
Parry’s fixation on the Lake Union tunnel echoes the intense civic attachment many Seattleites feel toward the city's massive infrastructure projects today. It serves as a stark reminder of the mental health toll hidden behind the rapid growth and industrial transformation of the region.
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