October 16th, 2007 @ 12:35 am by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure
Lately the SLUT has been getting a lot of attention. Yes, yes, I’m talking about the unfortunately named South Lake Union Trolley that’s set to
start rolling by the end of the year. It’s officially called the
South Lake Union Streetcar, but that hasn’t stopped Cascade (my old stomping grounds) residents from having a laugh or two. But before the SLUT, Seattle’s very first horse-powered streetcar
began service in 1884 along 2nd Avenue. The horse-drawn route was such a success, that builder Frank Osgood brought electric streetcars online in 1889. Throughout the 1900’s Seattle’s streetcars began mounting debt and the last streetcar ran on April 13, 1941. Now here we are in South Lake Union as the cycle continues. I’m kind of bummed that they didn’t go for the vintage look for the SLU streetcars (anyone else agree?), as from the
looks of the photo it seems like they went modern. Alas, let’s look backward to that very first Seattle Streetcar. Click on the image for a high-res version.
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Seattle’s first street car turning from Occidental Avenue to Yesler Way, 1884. Photo by Theo. E. Peiser. Image courtesy Marian S. Carson Collection (Library of Congress).
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October 16th, 2007 @ 10:45 pm
As a Portland resident, I recognize that modern streetcar for SLUT. It’s a Czech one from Ostrova, just like Portland’s latest Streetcars.
October 18th, 2007 @ 12:26 am
Nice catch, Doug. Thanks for the info.
Cliffe
December 12th, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
I believe my Grandfathe, Fred J. Shogren ran the very last Street car run on 8th NW. I not sure if he ran the last trolley since he had the afternoon shift. Does anyone have a list of the last Motormen on the 8th NW line??