The City Takes Back the Waterfront
After the great fire, the city granted a lease for a slip at the foot of Jackson Street. Now, it wants its land back—and the courts have agreed.
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 city was yesterday granted possession of the slip at the foot of Jackson Street, which was granted to the Columbia & Puget Sound Railway soon after the big fire for a brick landing. The terms of the original agreement were that the city should regain possession of the property at any time upon compensating the company for the value of the improvements. About a year ago, the company wished to repair the property, but the city blocked the work because it wanted to regain possession. The case turned on the value of the compensation. Judge Langley decided that $1,400 would be ample, especially after specimens of the piles were produced and proved to be absolutely honeycombed by teredos.
“Specimens of the piles were produced and proved to be absolutely honeycombed by teredos.”
The waterfront remains the most contested strip of land in Seattle. Just as the city fought for control of the Jackson Street slip in 1893, the modern battle over the waterfront footprint continues.
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