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| Aerial view of Seattle, Washington. Circa 1922. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. |
The Mighty Duwamish 1922
December 9th, 2008 @ 1:55 am by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure |
I’ve already posted one old aerial shot of Seattle, so why not go for two ? This 1922 shot is interesting — it shows the mighty Duwamish River. Look at all those farms before the more complete industrial takeover. Click to inspect.
Is that the wingtip(s) of a tri-plane in the photo? The Duwamish Waterway had only recently been created when this photo was taken. (from HistoryLink.org)
When the Duwamish tribe lived along the river, it meandered in curves to Elliott Bay. At high water and plus tides, much of the surrounding land was under water. Steamboats could navigate as far as Kent, but ocean-going vessels could not use the river.
In 1909, at the urging of City Engineer R. H. Thomson (1856-1946), Seattle formed the Duwamish Waterway Commission to sell bonds and to rechannel the river. A deeper, straighter river would allow ships to navigate to the industries envisioned for the reclaimed land, and would also alleviate the flooding that plagued the area. On October 14, 1913, the straightening of the Duwamish River into the Duwamish Waterway began.
By 1920, the Duwamish Waterway had been extended to a depth of 50 feet for 4½ miles. Parts of Georgetown and South Park once on a quiet riverbank found themselves inland.
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?displaypage=output.cfm&file_id=2986
Yeah bookmaking this wasn’t a bad conclusion great post! .