City Council Plays Hardball with Rail Magnate
Tacoma officials force James J. Hill to build depots in exchange for a multi-million dollar franchise.
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The city council last night concluded that before it gives James J. Hill a franchise that is worth millions of dollars, it had better make it certain that 'the people will get a little something at least.' The ordinance was amended to provide that the company must place a station at Old Town and at the Sixth Avenue extension on the Narrows, without regard to any other contingencies. The ordinance was sent back to the judiciary committee so the amendments could be written in next week.
“Before it gives James J. Hill a franchise that is worth millions of dollars, it had better make it certain that the people will get a little something at least.”
This tug-of-war over transit infrastructure and corporate concessions highlights a recurring theme in Tacoma’s growth: the ongoing tension between private development and public benefit. While the rail giants of 1909 have been replaced by modern transit authorities and commercial developers, the city's struggle to secure community amenities from large-scale projects remains a central civic debate.
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