The First Real Map of Seattle

The improvement of Front Street, which is the first fruit of an improvement by the City Council whose term of office has recently expired, merits attention by those interested in the welfare of our rising city. Until very recently, our city has been without any surveys or grades, and no one owning property within its limits has been able to locate, within several feet, the position of their lots or to ascertain the elevation of the street fronting thereon when graded. Our city is now, however, provided with a complete system of grades, extending over more than thirteen miles of streets and embracing the entire area of the city, bounded by Pine Street on the north, by Eighth Street on the east, and by Elliott Bay on the south and west. The City authorities have been furnished with a topographical map of the city, upon which is delineated the contour lines, the height above tide water of all parts of the city, and the irregularities and undulations of the ground. The improvement now being made on Front Street extends from James Street to Pike Street, a distance of 3,000 feet. The total cost of the improvement, including the work on Marion and Cherry Streets, is estimated at a little under $10,000. When the work is done, it will be the only thoroughfare in the city that will be completed to an established grade, upon which stores and warehouses intended to be permanent can at once be built.