The Trolley That Had to Buy a Gulch
A streetcar line blocked by a ravine gets its way to Harrison Avenue — for the price of a $1,630 strip of C. M. Moore's block 48.
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.
It is now probable that the Westside Street Railway Company can proceed with its work, the obstacle of reaching Harrison avenue having been overcome. The railway company was unable to reach Harrison avenue via Grant avenue because it overhung a gulch, and it was necessary to either set the street back or put in sufficient piling to make a support for a part of the street. A special committee consisting of Messrs. Ward, Marr and Sickels and Engineer Lemon was appointed to devise some means of overcoming the difficulty. They presented propositions to purchase from C. M. Moore, for $1,630, a strip of ground through block 48, and their report was adopted. The city attorney was directed to draft the necessary papers.
“It is now probable that the Westside Street Railway Company can proceed with its work, the obstacle of reaching Harrison avenue having been overcome.”
Streetcar companies in the 1890s were the growth machine made visible, and a single ravine could stall a whole route until the right piece of private ground was bought. Harrison Avenue still runs west out of downtown Olympia — the grade and the gulch are long since regraded, but the route was bought block by block.
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