The Ruins of a Bishop’s Household
After years in storage on the Seattle waterfront, Bishop Paddock's furniture was recovered in a state of 'shameful' decay, riddled with rats and broken glass.
Yesterday men were occupied in removing Bishop Paddock's furniture, which had been for three or four years stored in the building on the railroad company's wharf. The furniture is sadly demoralised, having been used by the rats as a harbor of refuge for many months. A barrel containing the finest quality of glassware, upon being opened, revealed the contents to be in a deplorable condition, at least half being broken. A large box in which a number of handsome and costly pictures had been packed was found to contain broken glass, smashed frames and dead rats. The manner in which they were packed is simply shameful.
“A large box in which a number of handsome and costly pictures had been packed was found, upon being opened, to contain broken glass, smashed frames and dead rats.”
While this was a local news item in 1884, it captures the impermanence of material belongings on the Seattle waterfront, a recurring theme in a city whose landscape is constantly shifting and rebuilding. The indignity of the 'dead rats' serves as a stark reminder of the harsh conditions of 19th-century warehouse storage.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.