The Great Courthouse Location Battle
Prominent citizens join a protest against building the new county courthouse on a high hill that is inaccessible and inconvenient.
The movement against building the county courthouse on the block bounded by Seventh, Eighth, Terrace and Alder streets—which is shared by nearly every citizen of Seattle—has taken shape in a formal remonstrance. The remonstrance notes: 'The block in question is on a high hill, at an elevation of hundreds of feet above the level of the sea, and is so situated that it is difficult of access. It is too far away from the business center of the city; it would be a great hardship to put the courthouse there. The whole county would be put under perpetual tribute to the cable railway on Yesler Avenue and to the livery stables.' The protest argues that convenience demands a central, accessible location, and that placing it on such a hill is an extravagance that taxes the common citizen.
“The whole county would be put under perpetual tribute to the cable railway on Yesler Avenue and to the livery stables.”
The civic debate over where to place the courthouse in 1890 echoes Seattle's perennial struggles with urban planning, transit, and land-use. The argument that 'convenience demands a central location' continues to shape the debates around modern transit-oriented development and civic infrastructure.
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