West Seattle news from 95 years ago: Grumpy about road work

(Click photo to see larger image – the resulting image may also be zoomable)
Laurie in Admiral found more newspaper pages from 1917 during her ongoing remodeling project and – as she did with the ones we featured here three weeks ago – she shared them with WSB. The top story for “The West Seattle Press” on February 14, 1917, involved an uproar over the cost of completing Admiral Way – here’s a closer look at part of the top story:

We’re not sure exactly which stretch of Admiral was being discussed. But here’s a Seattle Municipal Archives photo from less than a year earlier, looking toward Pigeon Point over where Admiral Way begins now:

(Click photo to see larger image on the city’s website)
And here’s one from a different stretch to Admiral in 1916 – though the archives don’t identify exactly where:

Back to the 95-year-old newspaper pages, we have a few other things Laurie shared from her discoveries – three ads, starting with another look at what land cost back then:

This one for a local cleaners looks for a moment like a news story – but appears to actually be an ad:

Food came at an interesting cost, too:

Laurie says she’s found more, so we’re hoping to be able to share additional finds sometime soon! This particular newspaper, as we noted in our May story, was only around for a few years, and copies are almost impossible to find.

DM June 17, 2012 (2:12 pm)

Re: the photo looking towards Pigeon Point: Wow! Is that water to the right of the bridge?

cjboffoli June 17, 2012 (2:22 pm)

Despite the obvious obsolescence of printing yesterday’s news on paper, it does make me a bit sad that probably no one will be tearing open a wall 95 years from now and finding a rolled up copy of the West Seattle Blog. Then again, in 95 years we’ll probably be able to say “Show me the West Seattle Blog from June 17, 2012” and it will magically appear floating in the air in front of our faces,

datamuse June 17, 2012 (3:57 pm)

Some things never change. ;)

WSB June 17, 2012 (4:11 pm)

It’s hard to get oriented looking at the photo, since obviously the creation of Harbor Island on tideflats changed a lot. Nucor references I’ve found mention that it was built on tideflats:
.
http://www.southseattle.edu/library/delridgehistory/gallery/work/work_5.htm

JayDee June 17, 2012 (4:33 pm)

The tailor at 2658 California is approximately where the outside BECU ATM is at the new Safeway, Btw.

The Nicholson grocery at 5209 is the NE corner of the Rite-Aid parking lot.

Assuming street addresses remain similar, and google maps accurately.

margaret in vashon June 17, 2012 (4:53 pm)

you me at “400 feet of frontage” @ $10 a foot. . . sign me up!

CandrewB June 17, 2012 (6:08 pm)

I think many of those same people who griped about Admiral are the same ones who were against the Monorail and are trying to stop the Tunnel.

Bob Loblaw June 17, 2012 (6:18 pm)

i would kill to have had “reader comments” back then. the comments would have fallen along the same lines as today, of course. but the language would have been a hoot!