Seattle Sawdust: Bits and Pieces from the Seattle Collection
Preview up to 100 items from this collection below. Seattle is literally built on sawdust. As pioneer mill owner Henry Yesler told historian Hubert Howe Bancroft, "We commenced sawing wood under a shed in March '53; the saw dust we filled swamps with, and the slabs we built a wharf with." This collection presents some of Seattle's historical "sawdust" - unique and interesting materials from The Seattle Public Library's Seattle Collection.
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How Seattle Changed Its Face, 1975
A brief summary of the history of regrading projects in Seattle, written by the City Engineering Department.
Identifier: spl_saw_2085906
Date: 1975
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Seward Park, the pride of Rainier Valley, 1915
"The queen of Rainier Valley parks, the largest and finest park in the city, and one of the finest in the world is Seward park, consisting of a heavily wooded peninsula jutting into Lake Washington from land contiguous to Columbia and Hillman. It is almost surrounded by water. So far, the park is in its wild state except for a picnic ground and many charming foot paths cut out by the City Park department. The plans which the Park Department have for its ultimate improvement will not mar its pristine glory, but will rather be designed to emphasize and enhance the beauty of the natural features. Its extent is so great that no charm of hill or vale, water or sky, wood or meadow is missing. It even has a beautiful little lake nestling in its bosom. The photograph shows a portion of the picnic ground at the entrance of the park, the slightly sloping beach and excellent opportunities for bathing and boating."
Identifier: spl_saw_557542_p23
Date: 1915
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Mountain Moving in Seattle, 1930
Reprint of article from July, 1930 issue of Harvard Business Review discussing the Denny Regrade, one of several projects to level hills in Seattle. Includes maps of Denny Hill Regrades Number One and Two.
Identifier: spl_saw_321419
Date: 1930
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Souvenir of Rainier National Park, Washington, 1913
Collection of colored photographs of Mount Rainier National Park. Photographs taken by F. H. Nowell, Curtis & Miller, H. L. Toles, Asahel Curtis, and Romans Photographic Company. Booklet is undated; some photographs are copyrighted 1913.
Identifier: spl_saw_2226125
Date: 1913
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Population by Sex and Color or Race for Precincts of Seattle, Wn., 1920
Tabulation of statistics from the 1920 United States Federal Census, showing total population and population by sex and race for precincts and enumeration districts of Seattle. Racial categories are White, Negro, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Other. (For map of precincts in Seattle, see spl_saw_2352897, linked above.)
Identifier: spl_saw_324183
Date: 1920
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Political Map of Seattle : Showing Precincts, Port and County Commissioner, State Representative and State Senatorial Districts, 1916
Map of Seattle showing boundaries of precincts and political districts.
Identifier: spl_saw_2352897
Date: 1916
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The Story of Hooverville, in Seattle, 1935
Typescript of memoir written by Jesse Jackson, the "mayor" of Seattle's Hooverville, a homeless encampment which stood from 1931 to 1941 at the site of the former Skinner and Eddy Shipyard in Seattle's industrial district. This typescript was presented to The Seattle Public Library by the author.
Identifier: spl_saw_2718576
Date: 1935
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Seattle Since the Fire, December 1889
Article from Christmas Supplement 1889 issue of Washington Magazine, describing building construction in and economic growth of Seattle after the Great Fire of June 1889. Includes descriptions of several Seattle neighborhoods and suburbs, including the residential districts along Yesler Avenue and Madison Street, Ravenna Park, Queen Anne, Fremont, and West Seattle.
Identifier: spl_saw_830497_xmas1889
Date: 1889-12
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History of Ballard, 1937
Brief history of Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, published by the West Coast Improvement Company, the primary real estate developer of early Ballard.
Identifier: spl_saw_2147870
Date: 1937
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A Survey of Racial Attitudes in the Broadview District; November 1948
Survey conducted by the Seattle Urban League to investigate the racial attitudes of residents of Seattle's Broadview neighborhood, in response to a 1948 incident in which residents circulated petitions requesting that a biracial family be forced to move out of the neighborhood.
Identifier: spl_saw_2397245
Date: 1948-11
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