Seattle’s transportation system grew out of a mixture of privately-owned cable car lines, streetcars, and buses. When the city took these over in 1918, it turned out to be a financial disaster. By 1936, the infrastructure was aging, and the system was $4 million in debt. The city explored alternatives and, in 1937, promoted a plan to modernize the system and make it more appealing. Proposition A proposed a combination of buses and electric-powered “trackless trolleys,” and the scrapping of the old trolleys and streetcars. Proposition A failed at the ballot box, but a 1938 federal loan paid off the debt and allowed implementation of the plan, and in 1941 Seattle’s streetcar tracks were pulled up and sold for scrap.
This 1937 brochure promoting Proposition A looks at the history of the system, the improvements suggested, expected revenue, and related matters.
Caption information source: "Seattle voters reject plan to scrap municipal streetcars on March 9, 1937," by Walt Crowley, HistoryLink.org Essay 2694.
Physical Description: 1 folded leaflet ; 17 x 12 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.
