The Price of Paving Seattle
An editorial call to stop Seattle's streets from falling into ruin.
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.
The people of Portland have spent significant sums on their streets, resulting in excellent, graded, and planked thoroughfares. Seattle, by comparison, has been derelict. In 1882, this city spent $60,000 on streets and sidewalks. We must spend no less than $80,000 in 1883, and at least $110,000 in 1884. An annual average of $10 per capita will be none too much for the next ten years. We must drain Commercial, Mill, and Front streets and coat them in gravel or rock. Our citizens are finally awakening to the necessity of this change.
“Heretofore we have been derelict in the matter of streets, but we believe our citizens are at last awaking to the necessity for a change.”
Seattle has been debating the cost and quality of its infrastructure for over 140 years. The mid-1880s focus on paving Front Street (now First Avenue) echoes modern battles over urban maintenance budgets and the ongoing struggle to adapt city streets to accommodate growth.
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