141 results for: Great Seattle Fire (1889)
Photograph
Toklas, Singerman & Co. employees posing, Seattle, circa 1890
In 1875 Polish immigrants Ferdinand Toklas (1845-1924) and Paul Singerman (1847-1915) moved to Seattle and opened what became the city's first department store. Originally located in Pioneer Square and named the San Francisco Store, it was later renamed Toklas, Singerman, & Co. In 1892 the founders sold the store to another partner, John B. MacDougall (1849-1931), who incorporated it as…
ID Number:Lib1991.5.46
Date:Circa 1890
Photograph
Exterior of post-fire location of Toklas, Singerman & Co., Seattle, circa 1890
In 1875 Polish immigrants Ferdinand Toklas (1845-1924) and Paul Singerman (1847-1915) moved to Seattle and opened what became the city's first department store. Originally located in Pioneer Square and named the San Francisco Store, it was later renamed Toklas, Singerman, & Co. In 1892 the founders sold the store to another partner, John B. MacDougall (1849-1931), who incorporated it as…
ID Number:Lib1991.5.47
Date:Circa 1890
Photograph
Two couples on gliders at Madrona Park, Seattle, circa 1895
The first three parks along the west shore of Seattle's Lake Washington--Madison, Leschi and Madrona--originated in the early 1890s as marketable retreats by street railway companies, who also owned nearby lots they sold to the huge influx of people to the city after the Great Fire of 1889. The parks featured attractions like dance halls, promenades, canoes for hire, nature…
ID Number:Lib1991.5.70
Date:Circa 1895
Correspondence
Isaac and Isabelle Bechtel letter about Great Seattle Fire, June 24, 1889
In 1882 Isaac Kinsey Bechtel (1848-1890) arrived in the Puget Sound area and bought 129 acres around what is now Main Street in downtown Bellevue. He had left his wife, Isabella (Lind) Bechtel (1852-1938), and their children behind in Waterloo, Ontario, but in 1885 he was able to send money for them to join him. The cabin Mr. Bechtel built…
ID Number:Lib1996.24.3
Date:1889
Program
Great Seattle Fire Reunion program, Seattle, June 6, 1917
On June 6, 1889, Seattle's Great Fire destroyed most of the city's business district. In 1917, a group of businessmen and officials held an anniversary party they called "The First Annual Family Get-Together Party." Calling themselves the "Associates of 89", the group's Officers and Executive Committee were a Who's Who of living fire survivors.The event included historical talks and recollections,…
ID Number:MS.COLL.678a
Date:1917
Document
Arthur Denny's Renton Coal Company stock certificate, August 7, 1875
The Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company was founded in 1892 by Arthur A. Denny (1822-1899) when he bought out predecessor company Puget Sound Fire Clay Company. Clay's popularity over wood as a building material grew substantially after the Great Seattle Fire in 1889. It is unclear if the Renton Coal Company is connected to the Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company.…
ID Number:MS.COLL.1426
Date:1875
Photograph
Exterior of Minor-Collins home on First Hill, Seattle, circa 1900
Situated on the northeast corner of Minor Avenue and Cherry Street, the Minor-Collins Home was built in 1887 by Sarah and Dr. Thomas T. Minor (1844-1889), one of the earliest grand homes built on First Hill. In 1891 when Angela and John Collins (1835-1903) became the new residents, it was still addressed 702 12th Avenue, but the street was soon renamed…
ID Number:SHS166
Date:Circa 1900
Photograph
East-facing view of Seattle and the Alaskan, 1888
Seattle in the 1880s was a rapidly growing city, aided in no small part by the 1883 connection with the Northern Pacific Railway Company. Lumber and coal were the primary industries, but the growth of fishing, wholesale trade, shipbuilding, and shipping also contributed to the town's economic expansion and population growth. The Seattle City Census of 1888 records population at…
ID Number:SHS201
Date:1888
Photograph
Intelligencer building at 1st and Cherry, circa 1876
Seattle's oldest newspaper, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, was founded in 1863 as the weekly Seattle Gazette, when Seattle was little more than a sawmill, a few dozen wooden buildings, and a couple of hundred people. This image shows the paper's new building, constructed in 1874 by Henry Yesler at Front Street (now First Avenue) and Cherry Street. The name on the…
ID Number:SHS252
Date:Circa 1876
Photograph
Members of Seattle Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, 2nd and Columbia, Seattle, 1883
The creation of the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) can be traced back to July 6th, 1876, when the all-volunteer Seattle Engine Company No.1 was organized. In 1883, the City Charter was amended to create and fund equipment, but not staff, for a centralized municipal fire department. The volunteer-based system persisted until pressure from the insurance industry and citizens after the…
ID Number:SHS323
Date:1883