Kah Tai Lagoon, ca. 1910

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A SCARCE EARLY VIEW—This early scene is lacking slightly in background detail lost to copying in earlier years. The photo appears to have been taken prior to the only major earth-moving undertaking of the era—the Water Street Cut of 1910, which removed much of the bluff and connected downtown along the water to Indian Point, the Kah Tai Lagoon area, etc.

The photo also is one of the earliest aren by Pau M. Richardson who began his photographic career after graduating from the local high school early in the 20th century. The new local portion of the Loop Highway was completed in 1914.

The only railroad connection to Seattle, by barge, is seen in right foreground. The situation of the streetcar line across the lagoon is hard to ascertain from this photo. The lagoon itself seems to spread over much of the area, including Kearney Street from right to left.

My earliest recollection of Kearney Street is about 1934, when cousin Walter “Speck” LaDue and I ran away from a family gathering out on 22nd Street to buy a new car downtown with a handful of commemorative aluminum coins that came in cases of Olympia beer. It was shortly after both the repeal of Prohibition and the beginning of the Great Depression. We were found as far away as Kearney Street, throwing rocks at the ducks.

Comments are welcomed. Remaining abreast of and blogging politically on the Trump impeachment will require further improvement from my recent physical setback. Historic photos will serve in the meantime.