Denny Regrade

By Oliver Hamilton

How did they do it?

How would a hill 400 foot tall get washed away in under a month ? Engineering team lead by R H Thomson and J A Moore used garden hoses . In 1908 the engineers changed from garden hoses to steam rollers and hydro cannons! In this way 5,000,000 tons of dirt was washed away and into Elliot Bay.

Who

A few people thought that if they didn't regrade the hills the city would not grow ! The engineers were, Reginald H. Thomas and James A. Moore. R. H. Thomas wanted to build a tunnel through Beacon hill but built a tunnel through Jackson hill instead !(he did that because it was less expensive)

Why did they do it?

The Belltown district got flattened ! The engineers flattened Denny hill! 90%of businesses were destroyed. 65years ago Elliot bay went up to 1st and main! The biggest cut was from15.6 to5.04 percent! 56city streets were involved! Regrades were completed in1914.

How did the Regrades affect Seattle?

• Seattle went from a steep hilly city to just hilly city. The hills were where Seattle center is now.

Bibliography

•  Crowley, Walt, and Priscilla Long. HistoryLink's Seattle & King County Timeline. Seattle, WA: HistoryLink in Association with the University of Washington, 2001. Pri

•  HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://www.historylink.org/>.

Keniston-Longrie, Joy. Seattle's Pioneer Square. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2009. Print.

•  Warren, James R., and William R. McCoy. Highlights of Seattle's History. Seattle, WA: Historical Society of Seattle and King County, 1982. Print.