The Northern Pacific's Tacoma Depot Is a Rat-Infested Shed
While the railroad pours a quarter-million into a new Seattle terminal, Tacoma commuters are left with a miserable shack.
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 Post-Intelligencer prints today the statement that the Northern Pacific railroad is about to expend a quarter of a million dollars in Seattle in erecting a large four-story brick and stone building, covering an entire square bounded by Madison and Spring streets and Railroad and Western avenues. At present the N. P. is erecting another $125,000 building just across the street from the site of the proposed structure. In Tacoma the N. P. has a miserable little shed, fit only for the habitation of rats, which it dignifies by the name of passenger depot. This shed, at a liberal estimate, is worth about $500. Yet the railroad that is 'the friend of Tacoma' has no money to expend in putting a respectable depot in this city. It is well to jot these facts down for use when the question comes up in the near future of determining what share of Tacoma's freight traffic shall be given to another incoming transcontinental road.
“In Tacoma the N. P. has a miserable little shed, fit only for the habitation of rats, which it dignifies by the name of passenger depot.”
Tacoma’s long-standing skepticism of Northern Pacific's corporate promises echoes contemporary frustrations with regional transit infrastructure and private developers who prioritize investment in more lucrative neighboring markets.
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