The Court House Conflict
King County officials struggle to seize property for the new courthouse as tenants refuse to vacate.
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 King County Board of Commissioners is in a difficult position regarding the new courthouse site. After authorizing the building, the board struggled to find a location. They eventually decided on the block between Fifth and Sixth, and Cherry and Columbia. Mr. Fred E. Sander and others offered sites, and the board eventually settled on the block occupied by the Post residence. However, a complication has arisen. Tenants, including Hon. Jacob Furth, refuse to vacate until their leases expire, and some insist on taking the houses with them. The board is reluctant to pay a bonus for the property, and taxpayers are bearing the cost of idle funds. The board now faces the grim reality of needing to see the project underway before the first autumn storms.
“Every day that money lies idle bears a wrongful tax on the citizens and taxpayers of King County.”
This 1889 struggle over the location and acquisition of the King County Courthouse highlights the early, messy process of defining Seattle's civic center. Today’s debates over public land use and the eminent domain process remain strikingly similar to these early bureaucratic hurdles.
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