The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1908-06-12

Stretching to the south from this por-
ton of the city are two new and wide
arteries of traffic which will revolu-
tionize the aspect of things in the
southern limits of the city. These new
roadways are now on stills, or more
properly speaking, built I'D in the air
on piles. Beneath the level plank
roadways thirty feet of filing is to be
made as soon as the countless tons of
sand and gravel are washed down
from the hills above. These roadways
will provide greatly needed means of
handling traffic of all kinds from the
central wholesale and retail district Of
Seattle to the southern portion of the
city and the country beyond. They
will be used by automobiles working
their way to the verdant rural districts
south of the city; by the owners OF
fancy turnouts; and by all manner of
teams bringing produce from the gar
dens and farms of the nearby valleys.
Such vast amount of Improvement
is necessary because of the unfortunate
selection of the site of the city. Henry
Yesler built a sawmill, and another
fellow came along and put up a board
ing house to feed the mill hands. That
was the birth of Seattle. Yesler select
ed this site because there was a spring
nearby, and with no thought of the
millions his short -sightedness would
cost other generations. Had he gone
half mile either north or south, all
this trouble. and expense would have
been saved. But neither Yesler nor
anyone else had any idea that a city
was going to grow around his saw
mill
At first the population divided it
self into separate towns. located here
and there in the valleys nesting be-
tween the hills. Owing to the natural
difficulties in the way these places
maintained their separate individuality
much longer than they otherwise would
have. They are all included in the
corporate limits of Seattle now, ex
cept Georgetown, although the city has
grown completely around this place
and two miles to the south of it.
The necessity for cutting away the
hills and providing arterial highways
between the valley towns now merged
into one city, is based on the prin-
ciple of life that without circulation
the body canot thrive. To induce prop
erty owners to bear the expense of
the work the argument was advanced
that into whatever portion of the body
the best circulation enters, there are
the best developed organs. A city must
have accessible streets for its traffic
or it will develop chronic commercial
invalidism.
The work is authorized by condem-
nation proceedings in court. When a
regrade is decided upon in a certain
district the cost is first estimated.
then a careful examination is made OF
each piece of property that will be
benefited by the Improvement. The
present market value of the property
is ascertained, as we'll as the enhance
ment of value likely to result from the |
Improvement. A special assessment is |
then levied on all property within the |
zone of benefit, and the work rushed |
to completion as rapidly as possible. |
Sometimes only the property in the i'm |
mediate vicinity of a regrade is as
sessed, and again the benefits will ex-
tend a mile and half from the scene.
The work not only proves the inesti-
mable value to the city, but invariably |
results in enormous profits to property
owners.
The rebuilding of Seattle is causing /
a wonderful Transformation in the
place. At one point big hill has been
cut down IA feet to let a 9O-foot
go through directly under
where a house formerly stood. A
tunnel a mile and a half
ong has been bored under the city
in order to get rid of the trains. Half
4 dozen churches have been shifted in
heir positions, and five-story school
has been pushed back out of
he way. In the retail district a bar
gain sale was in progress in one of the
stores. The shoppers were rushing in
md out of the big brick building with
Tut knowing that it was on wheels and
sliding backward nine feet