The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-01-01
ACROSS IN WEST SEATTLE.
The Most Important suburb Of the
Queen City.
Work an the whzrre-The F~rrv-
Clearing the PIzteas-The
Townsfts

Seven months since the k-oid rro1a
onsorT thar forms the westeru bonn
dsry Of Elliott Bav was covered xiih 4
dense grovfh OF heavy timber and
almost impossible nud.Fh-u h fo-dag
i = one Of the most promising tosn.
sites ard desirable places Of residence
/ on Puget Sound. Is ! the purpose d
this article 70 present a. nearly q.
possible an accurate statement 81 the
extraordinary changes that have taken
place there since last Jgne, ard to re.
court also the still mere remarkable
improvements that are CONTEMPLATED
Last June a party Of capitalist
mostly from San Francisco. who were
undoubtedly Ia Possession OF inside
Information, made the purchase Of the
entire southern portion Of the plateau
and immeiiately began the work o;
clearing of the timber and under
brush. A toxnsite was plated. the
streets being located 70 accord with
the contour OF the ground, AMI the
blocks and lots being laid out With the
advantage 81 full fronting on every
thoroughfare.
The pointer the San FRANCISCO
capitalists had received was to the 81
feet that the future city of West Sc
attic was 20 be the northern terminus
% the great Southern Pacific system,
Of rsitwavs, aud with a view Of
flrtherins this scheme. the Seattle &
Southern Railway Company was in
corporate3 by W. T. Brown Thomas
EwiRg and G. W. Prescott. % the
Union Iron Works. san Francisco.
Cyrus Walker OF Port Ludlow and
others, and the positive assurance was
obtained that the road would be built
The plan Of the companyss eitg j.
tie location Of wholesale business
houses on the Iowland~s adjacent TO
the water and skiFiing the foot Of the
rrom0ntsry The land on the north
has been wholly reserved for terminal
facilities, while that along the east has
been apportionet mo business blocks
The Cats viii be filed in by dirt or
lined with docks TO z total width of
from 500 To so feet from tha. front Of
the ascent. entirely around the bluff
Railroad avenue. i00 feet vide. d.
vides this business section III two. Al
lowing immediate access 10 rail-
road facii ties on either side. I'm
the spaee above the ferry land
ing for almost one R,ile
viii be constructed immense wharves
and slips for the accommodation Of
shipping Quite a large number Of the
hssiaess lot north Of the landing have
been sold, and the erection OF business
blocks is fully decided upon.
Wet Seattle j. easily accessible
from this city BY means OF the new
steam ferryboat City of Seattle. which
made its trial trip on the 18th %
December, and developed a speed M
usual for that species OF craft. The
run from the wharf Of the Wet
Seattle improvement Company located
at the foot Of Nam street, Is made in
eight minutes. The City of Seattle
was built in Portland hy stefFen, The
weil-knowu boat-builder, and the
machinery was furnished by the vii
lamette Iron Works. Her engines are
PSI horse power, and are capable OF
propeiliRs the boat az the rate of II or
Is miles per hour. The two landings
OF the ferry are built on an ingenious
plan The old fashioned apron, that
was raised and lowered by chains, is
replaced by a heavy wooden float,
whose movements are regulated by
the tide, and which Is therefore
always ready for landing without
any adjustment Of cumbersome ma
chinery. The company has Just fin
ished the erection OF convenient ferry
houses, with waiting rooms, ticket
Offices, etc. on both sides OF the bar
Dor. The work OF construction on the
new lumber wharf. at the vest end Of
the route is practically completed. This
wharf adloinS the Jerry slip ON the
north and is in dimensions SJ1xi50
feet. IL Is noteworthy that TIE piling
driven AZ this place many years since
i as intact a. il ever was, The waters
ef the Duwaniish. sweeping along the
western shore OF the haThoT undoubt-
eddy have 4 preserving effect from the
aciion OF the in-illious teredo.
The compiny's whaTves are the ter
minus uf the projected Grand and
Cascade avenues Of Wet Seattle, which
diyerge lust beyond the landing ana
make their winding ascents 10 the
plateau of the pfomontory, At the easy
grade o. seven feet in every 100.
To one who VISITED the wooded
and almo I untrayersed table-land
~ last spring, the view presented from
the heights i, one Of uueq 1ailet gran
deur. The undulat:ng outline OF the
Cascade on the east aud II the Olympic
range on the west, the broad eSpan>e
of the Sound to the north and the
sourh, with mounts Rainier and Baker
looming up grandly and prominently
in be Wide vista, form q scene that
cannot be surpassed ia any port on Of
the globe Ira the per pectIye can be
Noticed several thriving marts OF
trade and manufacturing points, " bile
seattle. pitched On the hillside less
than 10 miles away, Seems abolt
half that distance.
The work OF grading on GRAND and
Ca-cade avenues. leading up TO the
residence portion Of the city, has been
wisely and permanently done. Each
viii be ln1 feet In width. Grand ave-
nue. leading 70 the left from the ferry
step. leads southve-terly clear across
thu citv in an uUbroken course. II
occupies t. other streets the SANE rel
alive position as does MARKET street
in san Francisco. Thee thorough
fares are feeders to the main artery
Ca-cade avenue Is laid ONT in ike 30
.itiou 10 the right oi the ferry land
iusr Sunset avenue. - feet In width,
the nth avenue OF the new clty, fol
logrs the olt3inc 81 the h'uf ia a gen
lie turn around trom the northeastern
paipt. one tier al blocks is located
between the avenue and the pre- ipice
which. by the way, j. not SO mach
OF a frccluice after all. The highe {
point tn We { seattle Is about 90 feet
above water level. ami the altitude ~
sunset avenue j. about 40 feet II
NAV he mentioned here that tGC sur
Ease 90 the entire pltIe8n b level and
that no grading whatever Is niece ,,sry
to render any Of the blocks suitable
for residence. The streets NOT even
excepting those leading 90 the beach.
are natural ihurourh.a7e-, and she en-
tire tenn forms s. network ul drives
that ulii render them snea 1a'ei Tor
riding az auv point la Western Wash
igrton. Rainier, Gienwt-ld Edge
wood. Olympia. Nadgone. and
NaShon are specimen name q the
avenues.
Atoms Sunset avenue. a. Nas before
intimaiei, viii ~ tie residence, 90 the
nabob<. Anuniber Of very handsome
residences. none az them ~ cost less
than SSlN. ha, been toltFaeted for
alrraly. There !, not. however, bad
location og the vhee plain. and the
rearues, Of the io,- 90 the water only
makes them the mere desirable.
A location has been re~eryed on the