The Mud of Commercial Street
Seattle’s main commercial artery was once a treacherous gauntlet of 'semi-fluid mud' and rats, nearly impassable for the city's horse-drawn wagons.
The lower end of Commercial Street is in a most wretched condition. It is one mass of semi-fluid mud, full of rats and chuck holes, and it is with extreme difficulty that teams can get through. The wonder is that they ever pull out of it after they have once got in. It is high time this was repaired.
“The wonder is that they ever pull out of it after they have once got in.”
Long before Commercial Street was renamed First Avenue South, it served as the muddy industrial heart of Pioneer Square. While the 'semi-fluid mud' has been replaced by concrete, the recurring struggle of infrastructure maintenance in Seattle’s historic core remains a constant point of contention for local business owners and commuters.
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