City Wins Long Battle Over Northern Pacific Land
Tacoma secures major property concessions worth half a million dollars after a two-year fight with the railroad.
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.
All deeds for land from the Northern Pacific to the city of Tacoma are now in the hands of the city attorney and tonight the city council will pass the franchise and vacation ordinance and the two years' battle with the N.P. will be a closed incident. The passage of the franchise by the city is simply a formality, however, carrying out the agreement with the company. It, however, marks the culmination in legislation of the long battle in which the city obtained property and concessions worth over half a million dollars more than was first offered by the company and agreed up by the council before the Times raised a protest on behalf of the people. The deeds turned over to the city give Tacoma a fine block of tideflats on the middle water, the triangle at Dock Street, a strip of land to extend Hood Street 50 feet more for Pacific Avenue with a 20-foot alley adjoining it on the north and the Rhein Hotel on the south. Besides these concessions of real estate, many streets are to be improved by the N.P. and viaducts built at the depot, at South Tacoma, and at the Flyer dock.
“Purely from a financial standpoint, Tacoma never waged a more advantageous fight.”
The struggle over industrial tideflats and waterfront access defines Tacoma’s geographic and economic history, mirroring the tension between corporate rail interests and public space that continues to be negotiated by cities globally.
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