The High-Fence Strategy Against 'Vagabonds'
In an attempt to deter 'traveling vagabonds' from loitering in Seattle's waterfront district, the city's rail companies have erected a 16-foot-high barricade.
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.
Two companies are building a fence across the south end of Commercial Street. The stated purpose is to shut out traveling vagabonds on Sundays and at night.
The fence is to be 16 feet high.
“The fence will be 16 feet high.”
This 1885 attempt to use physical infrastructure to displace marginalized people from public space mirrors modern debates over hostile architecture and the policing of public access in Seattle's historic districts. The 'vagrancy' concerns of the 19th century continue to frame current policies toward homelessness and city planning.
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