168
THE WEST SHORE.
destined to be an enormous one.
for twenty-five miles more on either end then the citi
zens of Seattle, aided by those living along the route and
the capitalists of Walla Walla, will take hold of the mat-
ter and see that the road is DUin. xney sxana reaay to
do this whenever the way is opened for them to do so.
Another railroad project is the Tuget bound bnore Kail-
road to run from Seattle down tne eastern snore ol the
Sound to Bellingham Bay. There it will meet the line
of the Bellingham Bay & Jintish uoiumoia road, upon
which construction has already been commenced, by
which it will be placed in connection with the Canadian
Pacific. The commanding position oeattie will occupy
both as the leading railroad and seaport town will more
fully establish her position as the lueen Uty of the
Sound. ....
T rPHtwwfc to the value of property and the financial
condition of the city, much that is interesting may be said-
Real estate haB steadily advanced in value, and tne trans
fers have been large, though it can by no means be said
that the sale of real estate is the leading industry of the
people. They do not invite strangers to locate tnere
TTnder the expanding
i ,11 1nvfilnned.
inflnnnoeof capital the mines are om . h ---
. ,i ... imiwm'Hhioii of the mining,
i..;i l rWimnv. Since that time tne
nun Mini" iu""""' i -- , .,
,,UHi,.KK as ImiHllwl by the now n.aiiagmncn has wit
, ... : ..i,..ut. 1m.vi.iii1 belief. It is not too
,,,,,,.1, to Hiiy that tho Oregon Improvement Company has
Ihm.ii mora instrumental tin... any other agency in .bring-
i 1 i. ...i-v.l,.imirr(iwtli and nrospcrity of boattle.
Thin statement will not bo surprising to those of our
i .. !,, riiiuinilMr w hat our water front was three or
four years ago, and compare its then condition with the
present splendid array of docks, warehouses and coal
L..ra r..innnib(.riiiir that all these structures were
"""" " . .. U..
,r,,t,l by the Oregon In, piemen w pa, , y , rf
Clumbia & 1'uget h,mi uauroau wn.u " - ilowever an active market for real estate. Town
trzz
SW The company has other prop- rPTmt
0 ,m;,,d Waslnngu,,,, bit i Seattle holdings investment The rapid and
are by h, the most productive and valuable. city has rendered all such investments highly p ofitable
' Oueof the mwl important factors in the futuredevel- and there is no reason to suppose that they will not be
opmont of Seattle is it railroad interests. The narrow equally so in the future The city is spreading out wifc
.muKfl road of the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad wonderful rapidity, adding greatly to the .value of out
v. ... ..ii C- ...H1. i . i; nnnnvf.v tnnnh rf which was laid off in additions
Ijomimnv. widen was projected run iron, atjuuiu w jiv " i .
I . . ...... I. . ill .Thoi-a warn ranrwlefl
last year, sold ana uuuu upuu. xu
during 1883 2,570 separate transfers or properxy uuu
fifty-nine additions to the city. The estimated considera
tion was $4,000,000, the largest transaction during the
!.... 1 ... : 1 ,m- omnintinn tn KT INK). The increase in me
railn)iul ruui,in soutl, from tlio city to a connection with property is best indicated by the city assessment roll,
the Pacific Division of the Northern Pacific, and this In 1881 the total value of city property as returned by
line m now alimmt remly t, le put in oration, and will, the assessor was $1,600,000. In 1882 this advan"j
it is announced, lm operated by tlio Orog(,n Improvement $3,958,720, in 1883 to $5,685,575, and in 1884 to $8,932,045.
Company. This will render Seattle tlio practical tor- This only includes property lying within the corporate
minus of that (,'reat transcontinental road ami all connect- limits, though a large proportion of the actually occupy
!.... i: f..n i i.ii -i ii.. ;i i: l J 1U TVio rntft of taX VH
iiiK in"'", wiiiR vim iiuuM-hi jKuiii roacniHi uy ran on area oi me ciiy lies ueyuuu vucm. r
Puget Sound, and tho nearest and most accessible harbor 1883 was but seven mills, the city revenue from
i . 1. i . II. .1 i !. I . liii I i i Ann boo i-t
ui mo I'uvriiiini in iiiui greai uuaiui sea readied by rail- sources amounting to iou,ioo.4a.
imu1 from the East. The advantages it possesses in this One element which adds to the value of property is
rlHM"t will bo vastly increased when a road is constructed the improvement of the streets. During last year
across tho Cascade. Mountains to Eastern Washington $250,000 were expended upon improvements of this char
mid a connection will, tho Northern Pacific and the whole acter. Ten miles of streets were graded and twenty miles
raiWl nystom of that region. The interchange of com- of sidewalk laid. These improvements are being ; con-moditiea-merchandiHe,
c ml, iron, lumber, fish, etc, for tinued. Upon a complete system of waterworks $100,000 .
whuat, wool, lcot and the other pnxlucts of the great were expended, and twice that sum will be paid out in the
Inland Empire -will of itmdf build up a large city at same direction the present year. The system of gns and
Seattle; while the cmstruetioi, ,,f 8noh a road will settle electrio lights will also be extended, and preparations are
defimMy the iomtioi, of tho city as the great commercial being made for introducing much-needed lines of street
lort of Puget Sund and metropolis .if Washington Ter- railway
ritory. It this road U not speedily built by the Northern One of tho most important questiona asked by stran
1 a.nuo-and weuty-five miles have been built westward gers is in regard to the condition of society and the edu
from Amaworth, while Wntmg surveys have been ordered cational advantages offered by the city, Seattle has been
imiii'iiiij , " ... - - -
Columbia River and Portland, was constructed to the
in ml fields at Rentm and Newcastle some ten years aco.
This is now controlled by the Oregon Improvement Com
pany, of whirl, Mr. Lhjal, Smith was rocontly chosen
all