The Iron Heart of Seattle: New Steel Mills Promise Wealth and Work
As the city prepares for a population boom to 20,000, local leaders celebrate the arrival of heavy industry that will define Seattle's economic future.
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.
There is much rejoicing at Seattle by reason of the locating of iron works on the shores of Lake Washington. By Mr. Kirk, and the Power Development Company, a great deal of space in every way to the new enterprise. Seattle has reason to rejoice and feel happy because the establishment of these iron works means absolute and permanent prosperity to the city and great wealth to those who embark in this enterprise. In two years, with the push and enterprise characteristic of her people, Seattle will contain 20,000 people, and no new enterprise can do more to aid the growth of the city than these iron works.
This 1904 celebration of heavy industry mirrors today's debates over zoning, environmental impact, and economic development in industrial corridors like South Lake Union or the Duwamish Valley. Just as residents then viewed steel mills as the engine of prosperity, modern Seattleites weigh the benefits of tech hubs and logistics centers against housing density and pollution concerns.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.