The Bridge to Nowhere
A liability lawsuit reveals that the City of Seattle refuses to take responsibility for the Grant Street Bridge, claiming it sits on state tide lands.
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.
M.M. Tenter, a liveryman, sued the City of Seattle for the loss of a team of horses and a buggy after they were driven off the Grant Street Bridge into the bay. In a shrewd legal maneuver, the city's Corporation Counsel argued that the bridge is not an extension of a city street, but an elevated roadway built over state-owned tide lands. Therefore, the city claims it has no jurisdiction or responsibility to repair or manage the structure, effectively washing its hands of liability. Furthermore, the city alleges the driver was intoxicated at the time of the accident.
“Any attempt on the part of the city to manage, control or repair it would be beyond the powers of the municipal corporation.”
This is a classic example of turn-of-the-century municipal 'jurisdiction dodging.' It reflects the era's confusion regarding the ownership of rapidly developed waterfront tide lands, a common theme in Seattle’s infrastructure history.
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