This photograph of Holgate Street looking east towards Beacon Hill depicts two workmen at ground level, perhaps working on the pilings which raise the street and buildings above the marshy ground. Other pedestrians are also visible. This area south of downtown Seattle was originally made up of tidal flats; soil dredged from the Duwamish River and sluiced from the Denny triangle and Beacon Hill regrades was used to create this industrial area needed by area businesses and railroads.
This photo is from an album of photographs documenting Beacon Hill and construction around Seattle in 1923, probably of projects by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company (later Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company), a major contributor to the construction of the Pacific Northwest. All of the photos were taken by noted Seattle photographer Asahel Curtis.
Signs visible in photo: Great Western Smelting & Refining Co.; Velvet, America's Smoothest Smoke; Alaska Stables, 1901 9th Ave; Horse Shoe Tobacco. Inscribed on negative: Looking east on Holgate St toward 9th Ave. S., 5-22-23. Photographer's number: 19.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 7.75 x 9.75 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. View the finding aid for this collection at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv31817
Credit: MOHAI, Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Company Photographs and Publications, Lib1988.13.7.2.19, photo by Asahel Curtis
