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Local // Seattle History

Ballard before its annex

DANIEL DEMAY
"A building boom started in Ballard after it was incorporated in 1890. Building streets was a real challenge. Loggers cut the trees, and teams of horses and mules dragged the stumps out of the ground. In a few cases, routes were laid out around stumps that couldn't be pulled. The streets then had to be cleared of debris, plowed, harrowed, and graded. Crews laid down wooden planks on some streets to make it easier to travel in mud . This photo, taken sometime in the 1890s, shows a street grading crew and their animals posed for the photographer in the 900 block of West 57th Street in Ballard." -MOHAI. Photo courtesy MOHAI, image number shs17199.
Courtesy MOHAI"A building boom started in Ballard after it was incorporated in 1890. Building streets was a real challenge. Loggers cut the trees, and teams of horses and mules dragged the stumps out of the ground. In a few cases, routes were laid out around stumps that couldn't be pulled. The streets then had to be cleared of debris, plowed, harrowed, and graded. Crews laid down wooden planks on some streets to make it easier to travel in mud . This photo, taken sometime in the 1890s, shows a street grading crew and their animals posed for the photographer in the 900 block of West 57th Street in Ballard." -MOHAI. Photo courtesy MOHAI, image number shs17199.
Ballard's old City Hall included the fire department, city offices, community meeting rooms, a ballroom and the jail, according to Seattle Municipal Archives caption information. This photo from 1902 shows the building five years before Ballard cast off its independence in favor of joining Seattle. The building was torn down in 1965. Photo courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, University of Washington Special Collections, A. Curtis 00881.
Seattle Municipal Archives
Ballard's old City Hall included the fire department, city offices, community meeting rooms, a ballroom and the jail, according to Seattle Municipal Archives caption information. This photo from 1902 shows the building five years before Ballard cast off its independence in favor of joining Seattle. The building was torn down in 1965. Photo courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, University of Washington Special Collections, A. Curtis 00881.
Ballard began to struggle as it grew, and water became one major hurdle. In 1901, the city sent this letter as its formal request that Seattle sell water to Ballard. The offered price was $35 per million gallons of water for 20 years. Box 1, Folder 35, City of Ballard City Clerk's Files (Record Series 9106-03), Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Ballard began to struggle as it grew, and water became one major hurdle. In 1901, the city sent this letter as its formal request that Seattle sell water to Ballard. The offered price was $35 per million gallons of water for 20 years. Box 1, Folder 35, City of Ballard City Clerk's Files (Record Series 9106-03), Seattle Municipal Archives
This photo of two men holding a string of fish between them is dated to July 27, 1906. It appears to be on the west shore of Ballard. Photo courtesy Nordic Heritage Museum.
Courtesy Nordic Heritage MuseumThis photo of two men holding a string of fish between them is dated to July 27, 1906. It appears to be on the west shore of Ballard. Photo courtesy Nordic Heritage Museum.
This circa 1903 photo shows a wagon pulled up in front of Olaf Weggen and Charlie Homan's store, COD Grocery, at 20th Avenue and 67th Street, just south of where Salmon Bay Park is today. At the time, Marie Simonson was the clerk in the store, according to information provided by the Nordic Heritage Museum. Photo courtesy Nordic Heritage Museum.
Courtesy Nordic Heritage MuseumThis circa 1903 photo shows a wagon pulled up in front of Olaf Weggen and Charlie Homan's store, COD Grocery, at 20th Avenue and 67th Street, just south of where Salmon Bay Park is today. At the time, Marie Simonson was the clerk in the store, according to information provided by the Nordic Heritage Museum. Photo courtesy Nordic Heritage Museum.