The Dangerous Gap at Yesler’s Wharf
A gaping, unguarded hole in a major Seattle pier leaves two citizens injured and sparks a call for municipal accountability in the 1870s.
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.
About the center of Yesler’s wharf, there is left open a space of about 20x30 feet for the purpose of filling under the wharf with slabs. Until lately, this opening has been guarded by a temporary fence, which prevented accidents. The night before last, however, the fence was left down, and a person who had arrived on the Alida, in passing that way, fell through the opening, going down a distance of some ten feet. His cries soon attracted the attention of passers-by, who extricated him from his unpleasant, if not dangerous position. Fortunately, he received but slight injuries, but was considerably shocked and scared by the fall. Last night, a similar accident occurred at the same place, with like results. Certainly, such dangerous places should at once be made safe, particularly in that locality which is nightly visited by hundreds of our citizens, as well as strangers not acquainted with the ways that are dark.
“Certainly such dangerous places should at once be made safe, particularly in that locality which is nightly visited by hundreds of our citizens.”
Public safety on the waterfront remains a persistent struggle for Seattle. While the 'ways that are dark' at Yesler's Wharf were fixed long ago, the modern city still grapples with balancing maritime industry, public access, and the maintenance of aging infrastructure in a bustling urban core.
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