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in Places & People

Rare Historical Photos Show Famous Landmarks and Infrastructure of Seattle Under Construction from Early 20th Century

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The Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889, destroyed the entire city, it burned 29 city blocks. Seattle underwent massive reconstruction in the early 20th century with the construction of new neighborhoods, parks, boulevards, bridges, skyscrapers, and several other landmarks.

The gold rush brought an influx of new immigrants. In 1910, Seattle voters approved a referendum to create a development plan for the whole city. However, the result, known as the Bogue plan, was never to be implemented. During the Great Depression, Seattle issued 2,538 permits for housing construction.

These historical photos show some famous landmarks of Seattle being constructed in the first half of the 20th century.

#1 Ballard Locks under construction, 1913

Ballard Locks under construction, 1913

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#2 Cedar River Pipeline under construction, 1900

Cedar River Pipeline under construction, 1900

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#3 Yesler Building under construction, 1909

Yesler Building under construction, 1909

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#4 Smith Tower under construction, 1913

Smith Tower under construction, 1913

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#5 Lake Washington Ship Canal under construction, 1914

Lake Washington Ship Canal under construction, 1914

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#6 Second Avenue repaving, 1914

Second Avenue repaving, 1914

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#7 Ballard Bridge under construction, 1916

Ballard Bridge under construction, 1916

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#8 Crowd on half-built Fremont Bridge, circa 1916

Crowd on half-built Fremont Bridge, circa 1916

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#9 Fremont Bridge under construction, 1916

Fremont Bridge under construction, 1916

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#10 Dearborn Street Bridge under construction, 1917

Dearborn Street Bridge under construction, 1917

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#11 Husky Stadium under construction, 1920

Husky Stadium under construction, 1920

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#12 Second Avenue south extension under construction, 1928

Second Avenue south extension under construction, 1928

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#13 Spokane Street Bridge under construction, 1929

Spokane Street Bridge under construction, 1929

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#14 Garfield Street Bridge under construction, 1930

Garfield Street Bridge under construction, 1930

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#15 Aurora Bridge under construction, 1931

Aurora Bridge under construction, 1931

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#16 Aurora Bridge under construction, 1931

Aurora Bridge under construction, 1931

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#17 Aurora Bridge under construction, 1931

Aurora Bridge under construction, 1931

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#18 Albro Place Viaduct under construction, 1931

Albro Place Viaduct under construction, 1931

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#19 University Bridge under construction, 1932

University Bridge under construction, 1932

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#20 First slab of seawall being placed, 1934

First slab of seawall being placed, 1934

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#21 Central Waterfront seawall construction, 1934

Central Waterfront seawall construction, 1934

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#22 Diablo Powerhouse under construction, 1935

Diablo Powerhouse under construction, 1935

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#23 45th Street Viaduct under construction, 1939

45th Street Viaduct under construction, 1939

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#24 Ballard Bridge south approach under construction, 1939

Ballard Bridge south approach under construction, 1939

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#25 Highway 10 under construction, 1939

Highway 10 under construction, 1939

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#26 Mount Baker Tunnel under construction, 1939

Mount Baker Tunnel under construction, 1939

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#27 Mount Baker Tunnel under construction, 1939

Mount Baker Tunnel under construction, 1939

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#28 Myrtle Street Reservoir under construction, 1947

Myrtle Street Reservoir under construction, 1947

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#29 Aqua Theatre under construction, 1950

Aqua Theatre under construction, 1950

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#30 Alaskan Way Viaduct under construction, 1951

Alaskan Way Viaduct under construction, 1951

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#31 Battery Street tunnel under construction, 1953

Battery Street tunnel under construction, 1953

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#32 Battery Street tunnel under construction, 1953

Battery Street tunnel under construction, 1953

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#33 Aurora Avenue under construction, 1954

Aurora Avenue under construction, 1954

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#34 First Avenue South Bridge under construction, 1955

First Avenue South Bridge under construction, 1955

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#35 Monorail under construction, 1961

Monorail under construction, 1961

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#36 Municipal building under construction, 1961

Municipal building under construction, 1961

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#37 Space Needle under construction, 1961

Space Needle under construction, 1961

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#38 Lake Forest Park Reservoir under construction, 1962

Lake Forest Park Reservoir under construction, 1962

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#39 Interstate 5 under construction, 1963

Interstate 5 under construction, 1963

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#40 James Street freeway overpass under construction, 1963

James Street freeway overpass under construction, 1963

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#41 Montlake Interchange under construction, 1963

Montlake Interchange under construction, 1963

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#42 SR 520 under construction, 1963

SR 520 under construction, 1963

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#43 Paving the Fairview Avenue trestle, 1924

Paving the Fairview Avenue trestle, 1924

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Written by Aung Budhh

Husband + Father + librarian + Poet + Traveler + Proud Buddhist. I love you with the breath, the smiles and the tears of all my life.

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Kari Dru says:

February 2, 2022 at 10:34 Copy Link of a Comment

The engineering, the person-hours, and the labor that went into these projects must be appreciated! This is without modern equipment – incredible!

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