SH Archive Seattle's first streetcar

[Jd755]

Just had to post this. Jumped out when looking for more info on the Washington L Germon character on this thread.

It's said to be a picture of Seattle's first streetcar, horse drawn, naturally and a couple of things intrigue me.
First off the date of 1884. Was Seattle slow to catch up with streetcars?
Next the state of the land between the buildings. Cannot call it a 'road' in all honesty yet that's what it appears to be. Was Seattle not a well off place in 1884?
If it's the first why is it number 4?
Finally look at the building on the left hand side of the picture here wooden siding is appearing where the render has fallen off. This is what makes it so difficult to know what one is actually looking at in old photographs. To all intents and purposes a rendered wooden building looks 'solid' as in stone or brick but in reality it isn't and will burn, quite readily as the render would keep the wood dry, assuming it was seasoned properly before being installed.
It also reminds me of the World's Fair where the render over wood fell off on the corner of one of the pavilions. The World's Fair buildings burned because they were made of wood, most of it dry and likely some of the fires in the cities did the same.
Sorting the wheat from the chaff is not easy at this distance but tis fun.
Anyway KD does this street corner exist today?

This one from another source has more clarity.

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[Mike Nolan]

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Username: WarningGuy
Date: 2019-09-17 21:45:05
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That don't look like render has fallen off the wall but looks more like a bill posting area. Why have the got that one bloke standing there in front of what looks like it was a door or the remnants of a phone box that was once there.

 

[KD Archive]

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Username: KorbenDallas
Date: 2019-09-17 22:03:43
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Anyway KD does this street corner exist today?

Allegedly it does, but it looks totally different. Essentially who knows what this place in the photograph is? For 1884, I see no indication of the incline leading to the Smith Tower. Officially, the location is the same.

The building in the background of the OP photograph is supposed to be the Yesler-Leary Building. Destroyed by the Great Seattle fire of 1889.

Seattle is weird as far as it's pre-1889 photographic history goes. As far as we know 1829-ish is approximate date of the invention of the photography.

The Great Seattle fire took place in 1889. That makes it what, 60 years after the first photograph was taken?

• Pre-1889 Seattle Photos. Where are they? I think we have less than 20 (not counting Pioneer Square area).
  • Most of the photographs depict the alleged Pioneer Square area. The same location the OP photograph represents.

1887 (Yesler-Leary Building is visible)

• There are more photographs of the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1889, than of the pre-1889 Seattle

Naturally, go figure... I do not think that we are being shown the entire city of Seattle as it was prior to the 1889 event. Was it a fire? I do not believe so. I do not believe any one of those "Great Fires" was a natural fire.

This here is the same area after the fire.
Looking east on Yesler Way from Post St., Seattle, June 5, 1889

Then we need to remember what they did in 1889, post-fire:

• 1889 Post-Fire Seattle rebuild speed: 5,625 buildings in 18 months

Before the buildings were erected this issue of a local magazine allegedly came out in 1890.

 

[Mike Nolan]

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Username: WarningGuy
Date: 2019-09-17 22:23:12
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1887 (Yesler-Leary Building is visible)

Whats with a black and white photo that has 3 green signs in the lower left hand side ?

 

[Archive]

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Username: Starmonkey
Date: 2019-09-17 23:58:53
Reaction Score: 1

Google Image Result for https://www.seattle.gov/Images/CityArchive/Exhibits/CityatWork/RailroadDepot.jpg
Guh. Learning impaired.
Was searching PNW awhile ago for old buildings. Amazing the detail and clarity in some of these old photos. Couldn't find out if Seattle was ever the capital, but that building up on the hill to the right doesn't show up anywhere else that I can find. Although now there's the trendy "capital hill" district...

And just look at that impressive dwelling!

There, I'll stop being lazy and learn how to use my phone. That big state looking building. The two tower thing hiding in some photos looks interesting too...

 

[Archive]

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Username: R03Master
Date: 2019-09-18 02:32:40
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It's not just those 3 green signs, at the top right you can see that the front of the building appears to be more yellow, while the bricks on the side appear more blue. On the bottom left near those 3 green signs, you can see several yellow objects on the not-as-yellow buildings. It becomes a bit more obvious if you use Colors > Auto > White Balance in GIMP.
Would be great to have a non-jpeg higher resolution scan to work with, I tried looking up the writing on the image and the physical copy was apparently sold on eBay in 2008.
I couldn't find a higher resolution image, but I did find this picture of the fire where the sky's obviously been CUT out of the image.

 

[Jd755]

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Username: jd755
Date: 2019-09-18 14:49:46
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That don't look like render has fallen off the wall but looks more like a bill posting area. Why have the got that one bloke standing there in front of what looks like it was a door or the remnants of a phone box that was once there.

Well that sure is some slap happy joinery work totally at odds with the rest of the building but to each their own.

 

[Mike Nolan]

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Username: WarningGuy
Date: 2019-09-18 14:58:26
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Well that sure is some slap happy joinery work totally at odds with the rest of the building but to each their own.

I only said that jd because ive done quite a bit of solid plastering/rendering in my life. No offense meant just saying from experience and yes we had no idea how to build after the reset, shit we still don't.

 

[Jd755]

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Username: jd755
Date: 2019-09-18 15:11:19
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I only said that jd because ive done quite a bit of solid plastering/rendering in my life. No offense meant just saying from experience and yes we had no idea how to build after the reset, shit we still don't.

Not offended my friend. I too have done the plastering, lath n plaster, plasterboard and wet plaster over brick along with concrete rendering then plaster finish. Not a plasterer by trade but a when needs must plasterer.
That wonky bottom is suggestive, nothing more that at least some of this building was rendered over at some point or what looks like render is actually wood that has rotted away. Don't know when plywood was invented to be honest and by the date of the photograph most of the giant tree cover of America would have been beyond memory but point is once a lath wall is plastered/rendered there is no way visually to see its wooden innards.
Wandering off the streetcar topic a tad but as I started the thread there it is.
Coming back to the topic Seattle seems to have more hills than Rome or San Francisco. Those twin cable car lines go up and down very impressive inclines. No way horses could pull a streetcar up them. What possesses people to build on hills the way they do has always seemed to me to be beyond knowing. It looks to me also that Seattle's expansion was extremely rapid, one does wonder why.
I also find it extremely odd that the LOC scan is of lower quality than the older sepia coloured scan. I thought tech was always improving, least they tell us that when they sell it too us idiots.

 

[Mike Nolan]

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Username: WarningGuy
Date: 2019-09-18 15:25:51
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No worries mate. Sorry to get off track again but the photo R03Master posted on this thread is quite interesting because how often do we see the sky ? it's usually always cut out for what reason who knows but maybe we can see why if we look close in this pic.


I can see some weird stuff going on up there.

 

[Jd755]

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Username: jd755
Date: 2019-09-18 18:14:31
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No worries mate. Sorry to get off track again but the photo R03Master posted on this thread is quite interesting because how often do we see the sky ? it's usually always cut out for what reason who knows but maybe we can see why if we look close in this pic.

View attachment 29398View attachment 29398
I can see some weird stuff going on up there.

True the resolution is low but to me it feels the fire and smoke are the pasted in things. Just a feeling based on the rest of the content and the way the light and shadows fall. Timeshifter may find a higher res version, he has a knack for finding such things.

 

[Archive]

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Username: Starmonkey
Date: 2019-09-18 19:31:30
Reaction Score: 0

Find some of that first pic I posted then. There's some real interesting structures back on that other side of town we never seem to see. I found those others that show that building up on the hill, but there's more BEHIND from where those were shot. Turn around! Who cares about that big wedgie building!