The Jackson Street Railroad Takes Shape
The City Council reviews a massive ordinance granting transit rights across town, from Elliott Bay to the city limits.
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 Common Council is considering an ordinance granting J. B. Metcalfe, James McNaught, James M. Colman, and J. Furth the right to construct and maintain a street railroad in Seattle. The line will commence on Jackson Street, west of Commercial Street near Elliott Bay, and extend eastward to Lakeview, then meander through Baker, Weller, Park, Duke, and Lake Avenue, eventually stretching to the city limits with branches to Taylor and Broadway. The company is authorized to use horses, mules, cables, or electricity, and may use steam dummies east of Twelfth Street. Construction must begin within six months of the ordinance's passage, and the road must be completed within three years.
“The said road to have a single track, with the rails to be of improved patterns, with the switches, turnouts, and turntables necessary to the full equipment and operation of said road.”
This 1883 ordinance laid the groundwork for the transit corridors that still define Seattle's grid today. It highlights the city's early, desperate scramble to build infrastructure to compete with San Francisco, a narrative of 'boosterism' that has never truly left the region.
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