Seattle Boils Over for the Northern Pacific Rail
A two-mile-long parade and a massive pavilion gathering mark the arrival of the transcontinental railroad, transforming the 'Queen City' into a national terminal.
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If Seattle was filled with people on Friday, she fairly boiled over yesterday. The morning dawned bright and clear, and from daylight till noon steamers arrived from all points of the compass, bringing happy crowds to celebrate the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The procession, over two miles long, featured bands, local clubs, and representatives of the Union and Confederacy. A highlight was the car containing 'Princess Angelina,' daughter of Chief Seattle. Exercises held at the University grounds drew over twelve thousand people, with speeches from Judge Thomas Burke, Senator Kasson of Iowa, and Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison, all heralding the boundless future of the Pacific Northwest.
“We turned our back with the light from the east. We want no civilization from the west. It is to the east that we look.”
The 1883 arrival of the Northern Pacific was the 'Big Bang' of Seattle's modern history, triggering a land boom that forever changed the city’s economy. Today’s debates over urban density and infrastructure investment echo these early, frantic visions of Seattle as the 'Chicago of the West'—a city destined to command trade across the Pacific.
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