August 14th, 2008 @ 1:04 am by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure
I’ve always been fascinated by the prospect of the Denny Regrade (see our May 2007
post on the subject). The
Denny Regrade, was of course the audacious two phased removal of Denny Hill (from 1902-1911 and 1929-1930). Check out these two photos from 1929 during phase 2 — a modern day bird’s eye view is linked in the caption. Couple things to note in the first photo. Look at all the buildings still around: The Charlesgate Apmts, the fire station, and a bunch of others. Also the collection of cars at the bottom left, with the way they’re arranged, is that a car dealership?
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| Denny Hill Regrade Northeast from Fourth Avenue and Blanchard Street. Jun 14, 1929. Courtesy Engineering Department Photographic Negatives, Seattle Municipal Archives. Click here for the modern day view. |
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| Denny Hill Slide at Fifth Avenue and Bell Street. Jun 19, 1929. Courtesy Engineering Department Photographic Negatives, Seattle Municipal Archives. Click here for the modern day view. |
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August 14th, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
Was the regrade a response to the fire? I recall that was how underground Seattle came into existence was that the rubble was bulldozed down a hill and covered up.
It is entirely possible that I am getting my history points mixed up.
August 14th, 2008 @ 6:00 pm
I’ve always felt that part of town was sort of eerily flat - long before I was old enough or interested enough to know about the regrade.
August 14th, 2008 @ 6:32 pm
I’m a little disappointed you didn’t use the 3D view since you’re using maps.live.com. From the first photo, this view lines up nicely and you can clearly see from the terrain that the hill is mising:
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCC&cp=47.615234~-122.343281&style=h&lvl=19&tilt=-19.4160075475386&dir=0&alt=46.5430714227259&cam=47.614714~-122.34326&scene=-1&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1
Here is the other:
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCC&cp=47.61654~-122.34394&style=h&lvl=19&tilt=-19.8354481118981&dir=0&alt=77.1170900817961&cam=47.616006~-122.341974&scene=-1&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1
I tried to match the perspective, and elevation of the camera in both cases, but without an ability to adjust focal length these are only approximate. Still, the obvious change in the landscape is pretty amazing.
August 14th, 2008 @ 8:04 pm
I didn’t link to MS Virtual Earth because it’s very buggy for me. It just displays a flat green plain after installing it. I’d submit a bug if I could find a way how. It’s cool when it works though.
Cliffe
August 14th, 2008 @ 8:27 pm
martha, the regrade was a response to the steep terrain.
August 18th, 2008 @ 10:16 am
Martha, the fire and the regrade aren’t related, and took place at opposite ends of downtown. The fire was mostly in the Pioneer Square area and the south end of the downtown blocks. If the debris was pushed down any hills, it would have been into Elliot Bay, as part of the fill that created the land south of Pioneer Square where the stadiums are (once water).
The Regrade was behind Belltown, to the north of downtown, and was done in several stages, decades after the fire. That fill also extended the stadium area, as well as extending the entire downtown along the flat waterfront where Alaska Way is.
What’s kind of sad is that the land opened up by the Regrade was (and largely still is) used only for surface parking, with a few low-rise temporary-looking buildings here and there.