The Seattle that could have been: Proposed versions of the city that failed to pass

Not all Seattle infrastructure projects pan out according to plan, and many times, Seattleites have only themselves to blame — or thank — for that.

For example, on this day in 1970, King County voters rejected a bond package known as the "Forward Thrust" which would have built a regional rail transit system heavily subsidized by the federal government. Instead, the federal money was passed to Atlanta's MARTA system, according to History Link.

While we now have the Sound Transit light rail — which will open three new stations this fall and continues expansion in the region — many locals look back at that vote half a century ago as a time when the city could have got a head start on building up a transit system.

But for every bold infrastructure plan or building that makes its way to our city blocks, there are a few ideas for municipal improvement that never made it. From visions of a European-style civic center to a floating stadium, here's a look at some other projects that could have changed the city as we know it for better or worse.

1. Bogue's grand civic center

Seattle would look a lot different — and perhaps more European in architecture — today if engineer Virgil G. Bogue's plans for the city had been passed in 1912.

The Bogue Plan would have plotted out a city with rapid, subway transit lines connecting east to west, north to south and neighborhoods across the city; above-ground rail lines between Everett and Tacoma; and Mercer Island as a whole public park.

Bogue referenced the great cities of Europe throughout the Plan of Seattle including in his proposed Civic Center at Fourth and Blanchard which would house the city's municipal buildings.

But maybe rugged Seattleites weren't ready for that ambition in the early 20th century, as voters ultimately deemed it too expensive and rejected the far-seeing plan. 

2. A floating stadium

True to the city's maritime nature, some King County official actually supported a plan to create a floating pro-sports, retractable roof stadium on Elliott Bay in 1963, after the success of World's Fair caused architects and city planners to think big.

The proposed stadium would have had a monorail extension from the Seattle Center, and the project would have cost approximately $22.4 million. According to March 1963 edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the stadium would have floated on concrete pontoons similar to those used for floating bridges.

"Our people feel that our area desperately needs a stadium to keep sports in pace with other progress here,” engineer Brian Maither told the P-I. "We checked a map to locate the center of Seattle’s population. But there was no land available in such an optimum spot. So we decided to go out on the water."

Funding — and parking — remained an issue for the far-fetched floating stadium, and voters later rejected a $15 million bond proposal for the idea. The Kingdome would eventually break ground in 1972.

3. R.H. Thomson Expressway

What if Seattle's famous ''ramps to nowhere'' had actually gone somewhere?

In the 1950s, the R.H. Thomson Expressway was designed to link the Central District and Northeast Seattle, with ramps leading to the 520 bridge. However, residents and activists alike protested the expressway, now known as the freeway revolt, saying it would displace people and destroy neighborhoods.

City leaders nixed the expressway in 1971, dooming the ramps to their "nowhere" state in the Arboretum. But many would say it is a good thing the R.H. Thomson freeway never went through. After all, where would summer swimmers jump from in the Arboretum?

But Seattle's ramps to nowhere were to be torn down by 2016, as part of an major improvement project (though some bits still linger).

Another part of the freeway the never materialized: an ambitious plan for a six-lane underwater crossing of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Union Bay.

4. Seattle Commons

Before Vulcan, Amazon and other tech companies transformed South Lake Union with offices and condos, there was Paul Allen's vision in '90s of a giant urban park called the ''Seattle Commons.''

Supporters dreamed of NYC's Central Park in Seattle, but opponents worried Allen would just get richer, and the Commons lost in two public votes.

5. Green Line Monorail system

Here's what Ballard might have looked like, if the embattled Green Line monorail had succeeded. The plan — originally for a 14-mile, West Seatte-to-Ballard line — died in 2005, after financing problems surfaced.

Ultimately, taxpayers paid nearly $125 million for a project that never happened.