738 results for: Transportation
Photograph
WACs parading at Fort Lawton, Seattle, February 3, 1944
In 1897, the city of Seattle donated land on Magnolia Bluff to the US government to build a new Army post as part of a defense system for Puget Sound; this was designated as Fort Lawton in 1900. During most of its active service, the fort served as an embarkation station where troops gathered before being sent to duty in…
ID Number:SHS876
Date:1944
Photograph
Seattle Street Railway car on first day of service, Seattle, September 1884
In September 1884, Washington Territory's first streetcar line opened in Seattle. By the end of the year, the line had three miles of track and four streetcars which were operated by a total of ten men and twenty horses. One branch ran out to Lake Union, and the other ran to Front Street (First Avenue) and on to Queen Anne…
ID Number:SHS898
Date:1884
Photograph
Madison Street Cable Railway at 3rd Avenue, Seattle, 1907
The Madison Street Cable Railway provided public transportation along one of Seattle's busiest thoroughfares from 1890 to 1940. Built to connect downtown Seattle with Lake Washington, Madison Street was Seattle's steepest cable line, terminating downtown at a turntable on West Street (now Western Avenue), near the present-day ferry terminal on Puget Sound. In this image a Madison Street Cable Railway…
ID Number:SHS915
Date:1907
Photograph
West Seattle grain elevator, circa 1895
Colonel Thomas Ewing, the major developer of West Seattle, foresaw a great industrial center on the peninsula. In 1890, Ewing built a grain elevator and hailed it as the key to Seattle's future as a worldwide grain exporter. Ewing convinced the Northern Pacific Railroad to build a trestle across the tide flats to reach his grain elevator. The railroad carried…
ID Number:SHS1053
Date:Circa 1895
Photograph
Steamboat "Bailey Gatzert" at yard, circa 1890
The "Bailey Gatzert," named for an early Seattle businessman and mayor, was launched in Ballard in 1890. The luxury sternwheeler carried passengers on the Columbia River and Puget Sound and was one of the fastest vessels of its day. In 1920, the "Bailey Gatzert" became the first vessel to be rebuilt specifically for ferrying automobiles on Puget Sound. The ferry…
ID Number:SHS1076
Date:Circa 1890
Photograph
Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad locomotive "D.H. Gilman," circa 1887
The Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern RailwayCompany was formed in 1885 by Daniel Gilman, Judge Thomas Burke, and other Seattle businessmen. By 1887, it ran from the Seattle waterfront to Smith Cove, across Salmon Bay, and along the northwest side of Lake Washington. By 1888, the line reached Fall City to the east and Snohomish to the north, eventually connecting…
ID Number:SHS1143
Date:Circa 1887
Photograph
Men posing in front of tent near Jacob Furth home, 1889
The Great Fire of June 6, 1889 was a significant turning point in Seattle's history and changed both the physical and political landscapes of the City. In this image men pose in front of a tent set up after the fire during regrading operations, in which streets were raised up to 22 feet in places, helping to level the hilly…
ID Number:SHS1359
Date:1889
Photograph
Steamer "Queen" and ice floes at Taku Inlet, 1897
Steamers carrying gold seekers north from Seattle during icy weather didn't always have an easy time of it. Alaska's Inland Passage could be tricky and dangerous, and channels weren't always marked.In this 1897 photo, the steamer "Queen" is stuck on a sandbar in Taku Inlet, southeast of Juneau. The vessel waited for six hours in the ice before it floated…
ID Number:SHS1512
Date:1897
Photograph
Queen City Cycle Club, Kent, June 28, 1896
Between about 1894-1904, after the horse and before the automobile, bicycles were the hottest new form of do-it-yourself urban transportation in Seattle. The region's many cycling groups regularly sponsored outings along the twenty-five miles of urban bicycle trails which were built, funded, and maintained with the aid of city engineers. Bike cops enforced cyclist speed limits, safety, and dealt with…
ID Number:SHS1825
Date:1896
Photograph
Steamship "Queen" and schooner at Seattle pier, circa 1898
So many people wanted to go north to the gold fields of the Klondike region that all sorts of boats and ships were pressed into service. Some were more seaworthy than others.This photo, taken in 1898 or 1899 shows a group of men at the Seattle waterfront looking at the steamer "Queen" (right) and a small wooden schooner (left). The…
ID Number:SHS2075
Date:Circa 1898