Vintage Seattle contributor Allen is at it again with this 1909 Seattle panorama that just keeps going… and going. At 11436 x 2480 pixels this puppy has to be one of the largest ever to hit the blog.
The photo was originally taken by A.J. Park from the George W.
Elliott residence and you can make out a number of early Seattle landmarks. Thanks Allen! Click for the super duper high res.
Panoramic view from George W. Elliott’s residence, Seattle, Washington July 18, 1909.
A half-tone photogravure of Seattle, Washington from the residence of George W. Elliott (Replaced by the Rhodes Mansion in 1911) on Capitol Hill.
Taken on July 18, 1909 by A.J. Park. Numerous landmarks are visible: Lake Union, Queen Anne Hill, Gasworks (now Gasworks Park), Fremont, Woodland Park, Wallingford, University District, The Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition can be seen on the far right. This is now the University of Washington Campus.
Interstate 5 now cuts through the middle of this photo along the edge of Lake Union. Image courtesy of Allen.
Wow I didn’t realize how much of the lake had been filled in. Eastlake is so much closer to the water and there is no Fairview Ave to the west of the much smaller power plant.
The house at the corner of 10th and (I think) Newton appears to still be there: (http://preview.tinyurl.com/2u8xf9e). In the deep background behind that house, there are a bunch of lighter color buildings. I’m not sure but I think that’s a view across the lake to the University of Washington (or rather, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expedition that was ongoing at the time.)
…which, of course, I now see is mentioned below the photo in the caption.
Cascadian – Excellent sleuthing! I wonder if the occupants of that corner house know their house is over 100 years old?
I find this photo fascinating on so many levels.
For example: not a car in sight although a few roads are quite prominent. In 1909 perhaps few people had cars and the roads were for public transportation first. You can also see Aurora Ave along the west side of Lake Union – but no Aurora Bridge. Fairview Ave looks like a veritable super highway with no cars!
Was 10th street a cable car route? Those look like rails on it.
South Lake Union appears to have two large structures near Luna Park that may be water towers. Can anyone confirm what they are?
The new Hotel Washington is visible – this is just after the Denny Regrade. The lighter colored building to its left must be the Standard Furniture Co Building (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Denny_Regrade-2.jpg).
Lake Union is devoid of boats – this was when it was still just a big lake and the Ship Canal and Montlake Cut had not yet tied the lake to Elliot Bay and Lake Washington. Just a bigger Green Lake in a way. And to Brycen’s comment, the lake waters would have been higher because it hadn’t yet been drained.
Finally, just the shear density of houses all around, on Queen Anne, behind Gasworks, between there and UDub, and down to Eastlake, dispels any images I had in my mind for that period of a much less dense city. Obviously it was highly developed. All the more reason to wonder that the major terra-forming projects of the time happened – can anyone imagine that happening today? Not a chance!
It seems possible that view is still intact. It’d be fabulous if someone took a new shot that could be overlaid.
You would need to ask the owner of the Rhodes mansion if you could stand on the roof to take the photo.^_^
BTW Some of Denny hill is still there. The regrade was done in phases over many years. The first phase was still under way when this photo was taken. The rest of the hill wasn’t leveled until around 1930.
@Daniel K: Luna Park was in West Seattle, not on South Lake Union. The “water tower” structures are a part of a gas plant. It was similar to the other plant at the north end of the lake where Gas Works Park is now.
TomK – Ah! Thanks for the clarification.
It appears that the future U.W. campus still bears structures from the Exposition. The gasworks were still a gasworks!
Daniel K is correct in that the water levels of Lake Washington and Lake Union changed when the canals were dug.
An artist working for Sound Transit asked to use this photo in a history timeline that will be displayed on Broadway where the new rail station is being built.
Speaking of the Rhodes mansion, anyone know who owns it? Family descendants or someone completely new?
Yes, I helped a long time Seattle native buy it a few years back so let me see what I can do about taking a current panorama for comparison.