The Great Northern's Monopoly on the Waterfront
Railroad superintendent McCabe warns that the city's waterfront is being handed over to James J. Hill, effectively cutting off public access.
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Superintendent McCabe of the Columbia & Puget Sound railroad spoke out yesterday against the Great Northern depot scheme, calling it a reckless move that would hand the city's waterfront over to James J. Hill. McCabe argued that the depot location, which requires trains to back in and out of a small space, combined with high-frequency train traffic, would create an insurmountable and dangerous barrier for citizens trying to reach the water. He advocated for a unified terminal arrangement that would grant equal facilities to all railways at a lower cost, rather than allowing a single company to monopolize the waterfront infrastructure.
“If it is allowed to be carried out the entire waterfront of the city may be as well turned over to him.”
The struggle over the Seattle waterfront at the turn of the century defined the city's early development. Today, while the specific rail lines have shifted, the competition for public versus private use of urban waterfronts remains a core theme in Seattle's civic planning.
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