Now this series of four photos from William Henry Jackson is a real treat. Dated between 1901 and 1906,
these sharp consecutive snaps show a fascinating view of the Seattle waterfront. I’ve left them at a higher res than normal — around a meg and a half each.
Enjoy and, as always, click for the high res copies.
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| Seattle dock and waterfront as photographed by William Henry Jackson. Dated between 1901 and 1906. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. |
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| Seattle dock and waterfront as photographed by William Henry Jackson. Dated between 1901 and 1906. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. |
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| Seattle dock and waterfront as photographed by William Henry Jackson. Dated between 1901 and 1906. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. |
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| Seattle dock and waterfront as photographed by William Henry Jackson. Dated between 1901 and 1906. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. |
Wow, the clarity of these photos is incredible! I see that General Arthur cigars were quite popular at the time, given the amount of advertising around town. I wonder what building/factory that smoke was pouring from on top of (or behind) the hill in the middle of the first photo, on, um, is that Yesler?
Nice view of the side of the Hotel Vendome, which still exists, as a thorn in the side of First Avenue developers…
Fantastic pictures of Seattle before the regrade. KUDOS
My guess is that the street with the smoke at the top of the hill might be Madison due to the parallel street car tracks which ran to Madison Park ferry terminal. However Schwabacker Hardware was on Yesler before the fire so you may be right.
“The Hotel Northern” is the Terry-Denny building on 1st between Yesler and Washington (you see the back of the building here). To the right of that is the Maynard Building at 1st and Washington. Beyond that, with the Cigar advertisement, I think is the Seattle National Bank Building, at Yesler and Occidental, which now hosts the Washington State Ferry ghost sign. Pier-B is probably now Pier 48. That would put the street going up the hill with the streetcar tracks as maybe James Street?
Does anyone know what the devices are right behind the barrels in the first picture?
In #2, the original building of the Territorial University of Washington on Denny’s Knoll is visible at center /horizon. It was torn down in 1908 and its former site currently houses the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Nice cloud detail above it. Considerable pollutant, black smoke over the city.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Territorial_University_of_Washington_-_c1870.jpg
Here’s a great history on the fate of the building’s columns:
http://depts.washington.edu/ceremony/fourcolumns.shtml
Okay, HistoryLink states that Piers A-D eventually became Piers 36 – 39. Pier 37 is across/near S. King St. or S. Jackson St., I believe, so that could be Yesler in the background.
Matt,
In the second photo down there is a dredge with a pipe that sits atop a series of floats… the items you refer to look similar, only they are supporting the dredge hose… if not that, I would guess a pre inventiong of plastic bumper for ships… note the tank like device at the top of the rack… just a guess…
Madison had trolleys, but so did James, and if that’s the old courthouse on Terrace up top in the first shot, then the street with the trolleys (next to the smoking building) has to be James.
Yes. That is the old courthouse, which according to HistoryLink was on 8th Ave between Terrace and Alder Streets (where Harborview Hospital is now), meaning that Yesler would be to the right of the courthouse (south) in the picture. So the street in question has to be James.
@Tom. That makes sense. Also Yesler is not parallel to the main downtown streets, it’s at an angle. I don’t think it shows up well here, but it would be running upwards under the courthouse from left to right.
The “Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York” building is at the northwest corner of 1st and Yesler, in fact there’s still a ghost sign of a subsequent Mutual Life sign on its west face. The building just beyond, just across Pioneer Square, is the Pioneer Building with its now-gone pyramidal roof structure.
I’ve looked at these photos numerous times in the past but I only just realized that the second photo from the top shows the Post Station Steam Plant under construction. The plant was finished in 1902. so I would guess this was either 1901 or 1902.
very interesting article laptop