Image
Intersection of Commercial Street (now First Avenue South) and Main Street (now Yesler Way). The University of the Territory of Washington is in the center distance. (Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)
Ever wonder what Seattle looked like looong before skyscrapers, freeways and the Space Needle? Ever wonder what it looked like before the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 burned down much of downtown, causing the rebuilding to rely on stone, not wood?Image
A log-strewn Elliott Bay and the Seattle waterfront.
You’re in luck. The State Archives has several photos of Seattle in 1874, just 23 years after white settlers arrived. They include shots from Elliott Bay and what is now Pioneer Square. The photos are found in the Archives’ State Library Photograph Collection. The 1874 Seattle photos are the third and final Archives Treasure for October. We’ll launch the Archives Treasures online poll soon, so be ready to vote!