In 1888, J. M. Thompson, a developer of San Francisco’s cable car lines, joined with Seattle developer Fred Sander to build the Front Street Cable Railway. The line ran along what is now First Avenue from Pioneer Square to Pike Street, and south along Second Avenue. Thompson and Sander later extended service to the north, up steep Queen Anne Hill.
In this image, several Front Street cable cars wait in front of the line’s power house.
Painted on center car: Front, Second & Depot St.; Front St. Cable Railway Co.
Caption information source: "Cable cars enter service in Seattle on September 28, 1887," by Walt Crowley, HistoryLink essay 2690
ID Number: 1980.6923.47
Date: Circa 1890
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on cardboard : b&w ; 4.5 x 7.5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Benjamin Pettit Photograph Collection, 1980.6923.47
