January 3rd, 2008 @ 12:45 am by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads
Now this is a fun find — certainly less creepy than
yesterday’s images. I’ve always loved looking back at past predictions. Sometimes they’re
pretty close, but more often than not are downright humorous. And of course we’re all still waiting for flying cars. But check out this image from the 1914
Cosmogram titled “A Forecast.” It illustrates what they thought Pine Street would look like in 2014 — complete with blimps, oversized lion sculptures, an early stab at the Space Needle, buses, and spiffy architecture that I only wish was actually the modern style. Very cool! Click on the image to study the full res version.
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Looking up Pine Street, Seattle, Washington, A.D. 2014.
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January 3rd, 2008 @ 12:52 am
Oh, and the “pretty close” link refers to the “shop by picture phone” not the “you’ll eat food from sawdust!”
Cliffe
January 3rd, 2008 @ 9:02 am
You know what I always think we have been missing out on? Good old fashioned zeppelin travel.
January 3rd, 2008 @ 5:07 pm
Might have had something looking like that if they’d approved the Bogue Plan…
January 3rd, 2008 @ 5:28 pm
But they’d all probably have been torn down by now. Gah! Like most of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Expo buildings.
Cliffe
January 3rd, 2008 @ 5:52 pm
True! But at least Mercer Island would have been a park…
January 4th, 2008 @ 12:22 am
Upper left: Are there tiny blimps delivering folks to their workplaces? What with the light rail, computer glitches in the bus tunnel, and mini-blimps, the City’s going to have a full plate over the next six years, transportation-wise.
January 4th, 2008 @ 12:44 am
The Citizen Rain Blog compared the boats to the Duck Tour. Nice! There’s no way they could have forseen “Lowrider” and “Who Let The Dogs Out” blasting from the speakers though.
Cliffe
January 4th, 2008 @ 10:56 am
The lack of single occupant vehicles is charming! I only wish we had such unique and efficient transit downtown. And also some giant lions! Actually in it’s own fanciful way it does represent a great vision for downtown - ped friendly, multi-modal, dense, clean, open to the waterfront…nice work 1914 Cosmogram illustrator.
January 4th, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
Does the space needle take off and drop you off at work too?
January 4th, 2008 @ 11:38 pm
Wow that was a great find. The blimp/boat makes this image for me.
Although as far as great visions for downtown it looks great except for the whole canyon affect.
January 6th, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
…and not a tree in sight.
January 13th, 2008 @ 12:49 pm
Hmm. They appear to have considered the Pike Place Market something that should be torn down. They also seem to have anticipated even more regrading work than was actually done. But a shot taken today toward the east on Pike would include the soaring glass bridge-room of the convention center, which has at least a tiny bit of the spirit of the proto-Space Needle.
January 29th, 2008 @ 12:28 am
Too clean (as always), and very Art Deco (futuristic) for the period. But let’s not hold our breaths: with the rising price of raw oil, a Zeppelin style airship might become the transport of the future. Anyway, at that time the heavier than air aeroplanes were considered impractical, and the depictions of private aircraft (the “flying car” of later decades) were even more impractical. This image is atleast partially right in that there are regular passenger and freight flights through the air, though the mode of transport isn’t what was pictured (yet, I might add).
December 30th, 2008 @ 8:16 am
How is it that I thought I’d checked all the archives, yet missed this one? Fantastic! And the “Space Needle” is pretty much in the same location as today. If only Seattle actually had this much public transportation. Is there any way we could get this made as a poster for Vintage Seattle readers to purchase? I would buy one! It’d be fun to get a series of side by side shots down 4th Ave. from different years onto a poster, too. . .
December 30th, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
The “space-needle” there must be approaching 300-400 stories. The proportions seem to be misjudged somewhat.
May 11th, 2009 @ 10:29 am
What I’d like to know is where I can get a print of this image. I have a 1914 photograph of Pine St. hanging in my livingroom. This wouls make a great companion piece!