Demolishing the Big Rock of Madison Street
A massive geologic landmark that served as both a street guide and a lovers' meeting spot is being reduced to gravel to clear the path for urban development.
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.
The work of blasting the 'Big Rock' on Madison Street, which was ordered by the board of public works recently, was begun yesterday. The rock, which stands on the south side of Madison street at the corner of Williamson street, is undoubtedly the largest in this city, for it is sixty-four paces around and twelve feet high at the highest point. When Madison street was graded, the blasting was begun, but Hon. W. H. White, who then lived close by, obtained a permanent injunction against the continuance of the work, on the ground that it endangered his and other neighboring houses. In order to avoid any such danger, the present contractors are simply drilling holes and firing enough powder in them to crack it, but not enough to shatter it and scatter the fragments around. This rock has long been a landmark in the city. The names of the streets in the vicinity being only a tradition, a person inquiring the way to a certain place would be told that it was near the 'Big Rock.' When habitations in that part of the city were few and scattered, lovers made it their trysting place and, if it could tell all it heard, some interesting stories might be written from its recollections.
“Perhaps, fortunately for the lovers who have whispered their confidences under its shadow, the big rock tells no tales.”
Seattle’s topography was famously hostile to urban development; regrading and blasting away hills and boulders defined the city's early expansion. The 'Big Rock' is a literal example of the city’s struggle to reshape its landscape to fit the grid, a process that continues today through massive infrastructure projects.
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