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 Hill. The horses that pulled the cars were stabled at the corner of Second Avenue and Pike Street .

This photo was taken on the September 1884 opening day of the Seattle Street Railway. Mayor John Leary and invited guests are seated in the horse-drawn streetcar at the intersection of Mill Street (Yesler Way) and Second Avenue. The tracks run through the dirt streets. Two Chinese pedestrians look on from the wooden sidewalk (right).

Handwritten on mount: Second St. Seattle, W.T.

SHS category: Transportation - Horse Cars