Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1888)
THE WEST 8H0RE. 119 ings erected in Tacoma daring the past year would be a credit to a city of one hundred thousand popula tion, as one may well judge from' our illustrations. Tacoma is the only city in the Pacific Northwest which can boast of an electrio system of street rail way. Two miles of track are already laid, and as much much will be constructed during the coming season, by the Tacoma Street Railway Company. In addition to this, a franchise has recently been grant ed to another street railway company, which will con nect its lines with the former at the southern portion of the city. The Tacoma Street Railway Company's lines connect the two extreme wards of the city, and reach the wharves at the water front In the matter of hotels, Tacoma can boast of the finest north of San Francisco, modeled after the famous Hotel del Monte, at Monterey, California, and costing, with its equip ments, upwards of $250,000.00, and affording every luxury that the most exacting of the traveling public can require. Its location is such, that from it there can be obtained a most magnificent view of the moun tain scenery, which attracts to Tacoma so many tour ists. The two private schools which are in operation at Tacoma, are the Annie Wright Seminary and the Boys' College, both endowed by Charles B. Wright, Esq., of Philadelphia, and both are in a flourishing condition. In addition to this, Tacoma has been se lected as the site of a Methodist University for the Pacific Northwest, the enterprising citizens of Tacoma contributing, in cash and its equivalent, $75,000.00 to secure its location. It is the intention of the bishops of that church to make of this a university in every sense of the term, and relieve the necessity, which has so long been felt, of sending the youth of this section to the Middle or Eastern states for collegiate instruction. The city is supplied with water by a company, which has expended upwards of $300,000.00 in establishing a system of water works capable of supplying a city several times as large as Tacoma. The water is brought from a mountain stream, by a conduit nineteen miles in length. A largo portion of the city is supplied from a reservoir, by gravity pressure, and the upper portion is supplied by means of the Holly system. The same company has also constructed the gas and electric light works, and the City of Tacoma can truthfully be said to be the best lighted city on the Pacific coast. The chamber of commerce is composed of one hundred and thirty one members, and has erected one of the finest buai ncss structures in Tacoma the only one of a similar character, and built by a similar organization, north of Han Francisco. The general land office of the Northern Pacific railroad is located in Tncoma, and it has full control of all the lands owned by its com pany, as far east as the eastern lundary lino f f Idaho Territory. The growth and importance of the city is illustrated by the fact that it enjoys free mail delivery, and the amount of mail handled by the Ta coma post office exceeds that of any other oflico in the territory. Although Tacoma has over a dozen saw mills, yet during tho past year they have not been able to supply tho demand for building purposes. The amount of money involved in tho real estate transactions in Tacoma for tho year 1887, as shown by the records in tho auditor's oflice, was over $2,000, 000.00, and it is a significant fact showing and illus trating tho stability of values in tho city, that during the last soven years less than two per cent, of tho mortgages, placed on Tacoma real estato havo been foreclosed in the district court Among tho manufacturing establishment of Ta coma, the Tacoma mill must not bo overlooked. Tho output of this mill during tho year 1887 was sixty five million feet, and in ono working day of ten hours it has cut four hundred and soventcen thousand feet, making next to tho greatest record of any mill in the world. At its docks, which aro located in tho first ward of tho city, may bo seen at any timo vessels loading for foreign porta. Adjacent to tho Tncoma mill are located tho warehouses of tho Tacoma Ware house Company, with a storage capacity of fifteen thousand tons, and from which havo already been shipped, of last year's crop, twenty-five thousand tous of wheat to Great Britain. At present, tho Cascade division of tho Northern Pacific railroad crosses the Cascado mountains by means of tho switchback, during tho progress of driving tho largo tunnel, which will bo completed June 1st, of this year. This tunnel is nearly ten thousand feet in length, ami when completed, tho volumo of wheat shipixil from Tacoma will bo largely increased, owing to the fact -f tho greater easo by which it can bo haulod through tho mountains instead of over them. There is aU ready ono ship yard in operation in Tacoma, which has turned out somo of tho fleetest craft which ply tho waters of Puget sound, and another will probably bo constructed this year. Tho climate of Tacoma Is all that could bo destr. ed. Tho average annual temperature is fifty degrees, Fahrenheit Tho temperature in summer ranges ' about eighty degree, and in winter, seldom, If ever, falls below zero. What constitutes tho Winter son in tho East is tho rainy season on Puget sound, which extends from October to April It uimi not bo understood that during the rainy season tlre nothing but mist and rain. Nothing could li furth cr from correct This season is described si the rainy season from tho fact that during this time there is more rainfall than daring the summer. Fre quently there are two or tbn-o wks daring the win-