West Seattle history: Was your ‘hood on the map in 1891?

December 2, 2011 at 1:27 pm | In West Seattle history, West Seattle news | 5 Comments

Looking for a moment of Friday afternoon distraction? Just got this link from the “BIG Map Blog,” of which we’ll confess we hadn’t previously heard. They have posted the 1891 “Territorial Growth of Seattle” map in a cool zoomable/scrollable viewer. Large swaths of the peninsula are unmarked – looks like this was part of “the last frontier.”

5 Comments

  1. This map is available from WSU Libraries Digital Collections. You can find similar maps here:
    http://content.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm-maps/

    The map presented above is actually just neighborhoods platted. I believe they were not built until later. A more accurate map of what existed in the 1890′s is this one, Mckee’s from 1894.
    http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/zoom/zoom.php?map=uw033

    Comment by Mike — 1:44 pm December 2, 2011 #

  2. Wow, that is super cool! I opened a Google Maps view of the same area and it’s even more fascinating!

    Comment by OP — 1:47 pm December 2, 2011 #

  3. I tracked down a map dated May, 1907 several years ago that shows that between Alaska Street and Edmunds Street; 35th Avenue SW was Boston Avenue, 36th Avenue SW was Massachusetts Avenue and 37th Avenue S. W. was formally known as Commonwealth Avenue.

    Comment by Sharonn — 2:22 pm December 2, 2011 #

  4. What is Battery St now? Hanford? Fairmount was Elliot?

    Comment by RS — 2:55 pm December 2, 2011 #

  5. Nice distraction. Always wondered what the “Boston Company’s Plat” was, exactly.

    Comment by JoAnne — 5:24 pm December 2, 2011 #

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