The Land is Moving Beneath the Mills
As Seattle's waterfront expansion struggles against unstable geology, a sash and door factory is forced to shutter as the hillside slips toward the bay.
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 side hill above the Starr Mills and Bullene’s machine shop is gradually sliding into the bay, carrying the grade with it. The building adjoining the mill, which was used by Goodburn Douglas as a sash and door factory, is being taken down, as the sliding has caused it to press against the mill so heavily as to throw the machinery out of level. The mill itself and the machine shop are on solid foundation, but the grade has settled a foot or more over the slide. Unless there should be heavy and continued rains, no other damage is imminent. The grading has not caused this slide, except that the weight of earth may have had some influence in bringing it on. The cribbing retains its position, except that the whole street at this point has moved toward the bay. The hillside appears to rest on a foundation of quicksand.
“The hillside appears to rest on a foundation of quicksand.”
This 1878 report of a hillside 'sliding into the bay' mirrors contemporary Seattle's ongoing struggles with steep slope instability and the legacy of regrading and infilling that continues to shape our urban landscape and engineering challenges.
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