The Rainier Avenue Electric Railway Sold for a Song
After years of litigation and financial struggle, the Rainier Avenue line is auctioned off at the courthouse, leaving the identity of the true buyer in question.
The involved litigation concerning the Rainier Avenue Electric Railway Company was ended yesterday by the sale under execution of all the property of the corporation. The sale was conducted at the west front door of the courthouse, and the bidding was extremely quiet. Thomas I. Shepard, of Burke, Shepard & Woods, made the first bid of $1,000. This offer was raised by a man named Williams, of Portland, and again by E. P. Edsen, of this city. Finally, Mr. Edsen bid $14,000, and the property was knocked down to him. The amount realized at the sale far from satisfied the judgment, which, with interest, now aggregates close upon $50,000. Considerable mystery is attached to the sale, and while Mr. Edsen firmly asserts that he purchased the road for himself as an investment, a great many people believe that he was acting for someone else. It is also rumored that shortly after the sale, Edsen was closeted with Dr. Mitten, who is said to be acting for W. A. Underwood, the representative of the bondholders and receiver of the Rainier Avenue line.
“Considerable mystery is attached to the sale, and while Mr. Edsen firmly asserts that he purchased the road for himself as an investment, a great many people believe that he was acting for someone else.”
The Rainier Avenue line was a critical piece of early transit infrastructure that helped develop the Rainier Valley. Today, the struggle over transit ownership and the 'mystery' of private interests controlling public-facing infrastructure remains a recurring theme in Seattle's urban development.
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