Northern Pacific Moves to Control Tacoma's Railroad Avenue
How the Northern Pacific Railroad maneuvered the city council to seize prime tide-flat property, effectively bottling up Tacoma's harbor and blocking competition.
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 tactics which are being used by the Northern Pacific in its efforts to prevent other railroads from entering Tacoma are well shown by the way in which it has 'absorbed' that water front thoroughfare known as Railroad avenue, which comes down through the tide-flat district. Under the original plattings, Railroad avenue was set apart for the special use of railroads, other than the Northern Pacific, which might desire to enter the city. The Northern Pacific was already supplied with ample facilities along the water front, and hence had no need for privileges on Railroad avenue. But the N.P. looked with a hostile eye upon this open thoroughfare and determined to gobble it up. Through a special act in the state legislature and a subservient city council, they vacated one mile of Railroad avenue—giving the city virtually nothing in return. With the increase of property values, this strip of land will be worth millions. It is high time that this policy be stopped and the city council be held accountable for its role in bottling up Tacoma's growth.
“It is high time that this policy be stopped! The next time that the Northern Pacific applies to the city council for streets, IT SHOULD BE MADE TO GIVE A FULL EQUIVALENT TO THE PEOPLE.”
This 1904 editorial captures the raw tension of early 20th-century urban planning, where private rail monopolies dictated the physical footprint of the city. Today, as Tacoma reimagines its Foss Waterway, the struggle over public access to the shore remains a direct echo of these early battles for control of the tide flats.
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