A Missed Deadline for the Rainier Avenue Line
A failed payment leads to the forfeiture of earnest money for a local electric railway.
The purchase of the Rainier Avenue electric railway by E. P. Edsen has been declared off by Sheriff Van de Vanter, and the earnest money of $300 forfeited. Edsen bid on the road at a sheriff's sale but failed to pay the balance by the deadline. When he arrived with a check, he found the sheriff had already returned the execution to the court. Edsen claimed he was waiting on funds from local parties and then wired East for the money, but the delay proved fatal to the deal. A new sale is advertised for July 19.
“I bid the road in last Saturday and relied on the promises made by certain parties here as to the money.”
This story highlights the volatility of Seattle's early infrastructure development, where streetcar lines were frequently bought, sold, and auctioned. It mirrors the modern-day complexities of public-private transit projects and the high stakes of municipal land and utility control.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.