The Looming Rivalry Between Seattle and Portland
A visiting correspondent examines the high-stakes battle for Pacific Northwest dominance as the Northern Pacific Railroad nears completion.
The story, cleaned up
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One of the chief subjects of discussion and speculation, every place you go, is the effect of the opening of the new line to the east, the Northern Pacific Railroad. Ever since the completion of this road was assured, the question has been: will its real terminus be at Portland or will it be on Puget Sound? While Portland is practically today the terminus of the road, it has a formidable barrier in the bar at the mouth of the Columbia River. Despite these natural obstacles, Portland is an important city today. However, there is another town of twice its size—Seattle—that has grown up within 30 miles of the Northern Pacific's terminus at Tacoma. Seattle is the town that expects to be the Sound terminus of the Cascade branch of the Northern Pacific. It is the most important rival of Portland north of San Francisco, and is the seat of a vast lumber industry.
“Seattle is the town that expects to be the Sound terminus of the Cascade branch of the Northern Pacific. It is the most important rival of Portland north of San Francisco.”
The late 19th-century competition between Portland and Seattle for railroad dominance was the catalyst that transformed both cities. Seattle's strategic bet on being the rail hub to the Sound eventually secured its position as the primary metropolis of the Pacific Northwest, a status it maintains to this day.
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