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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1889)
WEST SHORE. 37 REBUILDING OF SEATTLE. 5EATTLE is on record with not only the greatest conflagration of the year, but one of the great est that has occurred in the history of the I'nited States, nnd this country numbers among its ca tastrophes, the most destructive fires of modern times. The actual property loss from the great fire that swept away the business portion of the proud Queen City of the sound on the sixth day of last June, as computed bv reliable and conservative commercial agencies, reaches a total of $8,000,01)0. The historic burning of San Francisco, in 1851, caused a property Ions various ly estimated at from ROOO.OOO to $10,000,1X10, and the big Portland fire in 1S72 cost but $1,X1,0(10. Spokane Falls's loss of $7,000,000 and Ellenshurgh'a $2,IXK),IXX) make memorable thiB fateful season in Washington. Three months since the date of the burning of Se attle have passed, and that enterprising city has as good shipping facilities as before the calamity. Its railway tracks and stations and its warehouses and .locks have been restored. Its one electric and two cubic car lines disabled by the fire are again in full operation, and the construction of a third ruble line tmx Im-imi commenced. In the burned section streets have been straiehtcned and widened and buildings are planned and under construction aggregating in value about $4.(KX).(XX). The total value of brick buildings destroyed was about fc'""1 the new buildings are already tiecupietl. or is i.r...yntl in evcrv hour of daylight, and in a mini- Imt of instances building rocs on nil night by the aid of electric light. It required a whole month to en tirely rxtinniiHh the fire so that the work of clearing I.U'IIV thi debris could urocress in all iK.rtiotis of the burned district. For three weeks Seattle was under martial law and a considerable part of her energies wiiu .l..vnt...l n alleviatinir the immediate suffering en tailed by the disaster. But while the soil was so hot tW it t.. moli-d bv running water in the exca vations where workmen were engaged, in or.br to make it possible for them to work, walls were com menced and carried upward with the greatest possible spml. The piling on the water front, snaked us it was with salt water, did not bum readily. My i the piles were only blackened over and it was only ...rmmry to replace the top timbers and planking j-J restore ortions of the d.sks. This gave a f.tl.-'M f-.r pushing the work on the rent of the wharves. Then the warehouses were ui-kly thrown up a;.' eloml with corrugabnl iron. The railroad bu.M...gs were erected with equal haste and the track, .ml yards placed in belter condition for business than - ' fore the fire. Then the great volume of materials I" rebuilding the burned city began to flow In from neigh Wing places, and every means for moving freight has leen taxed to it utmost capacity. Such an enormous draft on the building supplies of a new country like the Pacific northwest ha the elhvt to send up prices. When Norton or New York or Chicago burned, each had a wcll-dcveoHd country to fall hack UHn to produce and xur in upon it a limitless supply or minding materials. tin feawc the conditions are ditVercut. (ireat as is the amount of brick, luinlier. stone and iron in this country, the supply in the immediate vicinity of the city was not etpial to such a sudden demand, and prices smut reached a stage that warranted the imortatioii ol brick from Oregon and even from Southern t alilornia. from whence many cargo are lieing brought by water. On the principal building materials there has been a straight advance of more than fifty per rent. since the lire, and the limit appears not to have lecn reached yet. I nder such ditbcultles the progress ft uttle has made in rebuilding is nothing less than phe nomenal. On pages forty-eight ami forty-nine is given a view of a portion of the burned district as It apears at the present time, showing some ot the buildings now under construction. The following buildings are the most iniortanl ones in the burned district un.ii which work Is now actually U ing done: Pioneer IniiMing, ny II I.. ler, northeast cornier of James and Front streets, to cost j.V).l. J. M Coleman's Mock, on Front street, Istw.n Columbia and Marion, to cit IJ.Vi.uiO. Hex ter Morton's building, on Cherry street, I twc-n rW ond and Third, to est jm.lMRi. W. A. llall-y' block, southwest corner of S.roii.1 and Cherry streets, to cost f.1Ki,i. The new county curt bouse, for which $JwilK were appropriate! I'hiuney , Jones's building and the new Occidental bl.sk will each cost l.V),liit. John Noyes, (iilmore A Kirkman andTok las i Sing- riiian are each constructing buildings r.t ing '..'.,( l, The al-vi- will I"' from f"i" st..ri.s"in height and ......troded of brick, stni.e and iron. Scon s of line hri. k buiLliug eoMuK fliNllMI each arc going up in every rtU of the hunicl di-tri. t The records of the building lns-t..r ,i. h olli. ial wa. - rented July 17. over a .....nth after lllt. ,ir.) show that P.H -ruiil' fr the rmtion of I lii.MM.have l.m graiil.-!. and a g" "r" ;W,m previous to that date, of which there J. i r.,.,r.l It will I- .d-rv.,1 that lh l.ny hotel, 1 , , , ..,.. i i-s which i in ro.irs- of ii.n.tnic- ,;,, i.,.t.m tt., Ur.U..." U Is outside lb wri, d..ri.l The lUnier Iclel and two larg ! buildup- i. I "l,"r '" are ' ,l1,Itt.i r ..i ik. -h-i f