Charged Up

Electric cars are an increasingly common sight on the streets of tech-heavy Seattle in 2019. But electric cars were, at least proportionately, more popular over a century ago. In 1912, gasoline powered only 22% of the cars sold in the US.  Electric vehicles accounted for 38%. 40% of car owners opted for steam-driven conveyances. Americans of the time would have been familiar with dozens of automakers, big and small, most of which were history by the 1920s.

One brand that lasted longer than most was Studebaker. This Asahel Curtis photograph shows a shiny new 1908 Studebaker Victoria Phaeton electric. The photo was taken from the curbside by the Studebaker Brothers dealership at 308 1^st Avenue. The Seattle Times from April 15th describes a Victoria Phaeton road test around the streets of Seattle. This picture was probably taken to commemorate the event and I think it’s likely the man behind the tiller is Marcus W. Kincaid, the dealership’s manager.

The goal was to see how many times the little electric could make the round trip from downtown Seattle to the top of Queen Anne Hill. It was a challenge many Seattleites could relate to. Not all roads were fully paved in 1908. The final regrade projects were still in the future so downtown had several taller, steeper inclines than what we see today.

The article describes a circuitous route, starting at Pike and 2^nd, winding past Vine, 1^st, Harrison and Queen Anne Avenue, ending at 6^th Avenue West and Lee Street, declaring that the highest elevation. The car returned to the starting point using roughly the same route and repeated the trip. The Studebaker managed the seven mile round trip four times with enough charge left over “to run around town for some time afterward,” proving that the cars were “quite suitable” for residents of Queen Anne Hill, going on to state that “no one would have occasion to make more than four round trips down town in a day.”

Anyone needing that unlikely fifth trip would have to take a trolley like the one seen in the background of this photo -- or maybe one of the 80,000 horses residing in Seattle at the time.

CK

Bricks of Contention

The first brick is laid at the corner of 2nd and Washington October 19th, 1912, but there was trouble ahead.

Seattle wasn’t above taking a patronizing tone with younger towns and communities over the last century, sometimes actively exerting influence over its smaller neighbors -- all in the interest of mutual prosperity, of course.

A small headline in the Seattle Times in 1912 reads “Bremerton To Have Its Streets Paved.” The short paragraph that follows describes Bremerton’s mayor Paul Mehner and a large crowd gathered for the laying of the first brick at the corner of 2^nd and Washington. The project was to cover ten blocks of the young city with a mix of bricks and asphalt for the price of $60,000.00. This photo probably depicts that October 19^th ceremony.

But the was story wasn’t so simple. The ongoing competition between Seattle and Tacoma soon surfaced in the bricks lining Bremerton’s streets. The bids received for the paving project were neatly typed up in the city council minutes but the winner, J.S. Kenyon, was hastily added by hand after the fact.

After some correspondence and a factory tour the Bremerton city council clearly favored bricks from the Denny Renton & Coal Company in Seattle. Kenyon opted for a more affordable product from Standard Clay of Tacoma. Property owners, including the estimable Sophia Bremer, argued in favor of the Denny Renton bricks. But Kenyon was adamant – and he had the backing of friends and business partners at City Hall.

The debate only grew. An independent testing firm (from Seattle, of course) confirmed that the Tacoma bricks were uneven in shape and below the standard required by the contract. A lawsuit temporarily halted the paving work, ironically on the street shown in this photo. The issue ping ponged back and forth between the city council, lawyers and the contractor for over a year. The Seattle Times remarked that Bremerton’s plunge into “modern municipal activities” had brought “little happiness to residents and taxpayers.”

It appears the project was quietly completed more than a year later. I'm guessing they went with the Tacoma bricks.

CK

ps: Special thanks to Sean Hoynes for snapping the “now” image!