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A Bird's Eye View of Seattle: 1891 · Street Smart Naturalist

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Greetings and Happy New Year.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is David B.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Williams and the podcast of my newsletter,
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: The Street Smart Naturalist,
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind.
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  Every week I share my observations and adventures with the
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  human and natural world
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  SPEAKER_00: around Seattle,
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  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode takes a flight of fancy to look over Seattle in 1891.
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  SPEAKER_00: If I sound a bit nasally, it's not your ears, it's my nose.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm recovering from the sniffles.
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  SPEAKER_00: To learn about my work, please go to my website, geologywriter.com.
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  You will also find a link to my Substack newsletter and my
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  previous three years of newsletters,
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  SPEAKER_00: as well as images tied to this week's episode.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for joining me on this adventure,
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  SPEAKER_00: and welcome to Podcast 6 of the Street Smart Newsletter,
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  SPEAKER_00: A Bird's Eye View of Seattle,
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  SPEAKER_00: January 2,
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  SPEAKER_00: 2025.
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  SPEAKER_00: I have long been enamored with maps,
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  SPEAKER_00: so I thought I'd begin 2025 by exploring one of my favorites.
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  SPEAKER_00: In 1891,
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  SPEAKER_00: Augustus Koch produced his Bird's Eye View of Seattle,
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  SPEAKER_00: a glorious illustration of the city.
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  As he noted on the map,
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  it came out just 18 months after Seattle's Great Fire.
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  SPEAKER_00: Koch was illustrating the city's rise from the ashes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Like many at his age,
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  SPEAKER_00: 49 years old,
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  SPEAKER_00: Koch had fought in the Civil War,
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  SPEAKER_00: where he had been a draftsman making maps.
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  SPEAKER_00: For the past two decades,
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  he had traveled the country producing fantastic aerial views of
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  cities from Jacksondale,
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  SPEAKER_00: Florida to Los Angeles.
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  SPEAKER_00: He had come to Seattle in the summer of 1890 to do the same.
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  With exquisite detail,
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  Koch drew Seattle from a perspective over Pigeon Point in West Seattle.
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  His bird's eye view showed the city,
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  its surroundings,
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  and its infrastructure.
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  Measuring 32 by 50 inches and published as a limited edition
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  lithograph in 1891,
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  SPEAKER_00: the panorama map took six months to complete.
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  It provides a remarkable snapshot of a city on the cusp of
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  change from its pioneer
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  SPEAKER_00: roots to its status as the most important city in the state.
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  SPEAKER_00: Plying the waters of L.A.
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  SPEAKER_00: Bay are more than two dozen schooners, tugs, and paddle wheelers.
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  SPEAKER_00: Two were specific ships, the steamers Willamette and Walla Walla.
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  SPEAKER_00: Both were passenger ships running between San Francisco and Puget Sound.
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  SPEAKER_00: Also named was the U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Man of War Charleston.
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  Cox's smaller vessels looked to be part of Puget Sound's
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  legendary Mosquito fleet,
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  SPEAKER_00: typically pointy-ended,
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  SPEAKER_00: flat-bottomed,
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  SPEAKER_00: propeller-driven,
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  SPEAKER_00: steam-powered,
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  SPEAKER_00: and made of wood.
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  SPEAKER_00: The boats were a combination of public transportation,
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  SPEAKER_00: UPS truck,
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  SPEAKER_00: post office,
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  SPEAKER_00: and general store.
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  The Mosquito fleet was essential to knitting together Puget
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  Sound's far-flung
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  SPEAKER_00: settlements into a thriving community.
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  SPEAKER_00: But what stands out most for me is the phenomenal presence of rails.
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  15 trains,
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  the longest of which pulls 16 cars,
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  travel on tracks to,
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  through,
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  and from Seattle.
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  SPEAKER_00: The train tracks dominate the waterfront.
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  No pedestrian can reach any part of Elliott Bay from Beacon
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  Hill to Smithcote
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  SPEAKER_00: without crossing at least one and up to five tracks.
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  SPEAKER_00: In addition, 13 trolleys carry passengers across the city.
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  SPEAKER_00: They go up to Capitol Hill,
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  SPEAKER_00: along the spine of West Seattle,
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  SPEAKER_00: over Madison to Lake Washington,
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  SPEAKER_00: and south toward Rainier Valley.
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  Tracks also cross the tide flats of the Duwamish River and
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  frame in the lowlands
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  SPEAKER_00: east and north sides.
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  Extending south into the tideland are wharves that give the
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  city an appearance of
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  SPEAKER_00: trying to become the new Venice,
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  SPEAKER_00: floating atop water.
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  SPEAKER_00: These were working morbs with a shipbuilding facility,
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  SPEAKER_00: several lumber mills,
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  SPEAKER_00: immense coal bunkers,
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  SPEAKER_00: railroad depots,
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  SPEAKER_00: and boiler works.
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  One result of the growth of the train system and associated
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  infrastructure was the
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  SPEAKER_00: complete reshaping of the waterfront.
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  SPEAKER_00: The change ultimately added about 2,200 acres of made land to Seattle.
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  SPEAKER_00: Known for his remarkable accuracy, Koch did what a photographer couldn't.
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  SPEAKER_00: He created a composite and
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  For instance,
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  all of those ships couldn't have been in the harbor on the same day.
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  SPEAKER_00: They would have needed too much space to turn around.
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  I would guess the same was true with all the trains traveling
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  through his drawing.
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  SPEAKER_00: Never did all run as shown.
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  But Koch's portrait accurately reflects what a typical
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  Seattleite could have
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  SPEAKER_00: witnessed in the growing city.
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  In the 18 months since the downtown had burned to the ground,
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  everyone had rushed to rebuild.
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  SPEAKER_00: The new structures were usually bigger and certainly more substantial,
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  SPEAKER_00: with brick and stone instead of wood.
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  SPEAKER_00: The sound of hammers,
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  SPEAKER_00: saws,
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  SPEAKER_00: chisels,
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  SPEAKER_00: sledges,
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  SPEAKER_00: and piledravers resounded with the Seattle spirit.
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  Ships arrived daily,
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  bringing in goods and supplies and taking out raw materials.
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  And although Seattle would have to wait two more years for
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  direct transcontinental
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  SPEAKER_00: rail service,
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  SPEAKER_00: trains also arrived and departed daily from points south and east.
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  SPEAKER_00: It must have been an exciting time to live here.
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  The city had survived its devastating fire and was now thriving
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  and changing at an
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  SPEAKER_00: unprecedented pace.
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  But part of what makes this image so interesting is that I know
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  it is fleeting.
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  SPEAKER_00: Within 30 years,
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  SPEAKER_00: Seattle regrades would reshape the topography,
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  SPEAKER_00: the tide flats would be filled,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the forest that Koch drew would be logged.
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  SPEAKER_00: But what else is new?
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  SPEAKER_00: Reimagining and reinventing itself has long been the story of Seattle.
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  SPEAKER_00: Just look around at what has happened here in the past few decades.
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  SPEAKER_00: Once again,
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  SPEAKER_00: this is David B.
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  SPEAKER_00: Williams,
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  SPEAKER_00: author and voice of the Seattle Street Smart Naturalist,
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind,
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  a weekly newsletter and podcast focused on the human and
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  natural world around Seattle,
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: For more information about my books,
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: walks,
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: and talks,
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: and a link to sign up for our newsletter and podcast,
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: check out my website,
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: geologywriter.com.
• 5:46
  And don't forget to slow down,
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  pay attention,
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  and enjoy the world around you.
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  SPEAKER_00: I also wish all of you a safe, healthy, and laughter-filled 2025.