On May 20, 1958, at about 9:25 p.m., a massive fire began that destroyed the Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing Co. at Salmon Bay in Ballard. Fireboats poured water on the flames, the largest fire in Seattle since the fire of 1889. Heat from the fire was felt more than two blocks away, and the fire's glow was visible from Tacoma to Victoria. The company, founded in the 1890s, was rebuilt and regained peak production a year later. This photo of the fire appears to have been taken from the south end of the Ballard Bridge.

Caption information source: "Postcards from Seattle's Past: 1941-60," http://www.seattlepi.com/local/seattle-history/slideshow/Postcards-from-Seattle-s-Past-1960-1941-3590.php
Caption information source: "Arson Hinted in Ballard Mill Fire," by Ed Guthman, The Seattle Daily Times, page 1, May 21, 1958