Seattle's Map, Explained

00:00 Intro
00:56 Seattle's Origin
02:09 The Geology
03:52 The Changers
06:23 Ground News
08:11 The Cast
09:54 Dividing the Land
12:00 Skid Row
14:51 The Fire
17:08 Underground Seattle
20:56 Regrading
22:20 Impact of Trains
24:48 ilysm thank you for watching

[jisezer]

As a resident of Seattle, rarely do you find truthful tellings of the history of our city. Thank you!

[jibburz]

I drive all around seattle, all day, because of my job. I've always been curious about small stuff like street name origins, why sodo was so flat, or why the cities grid layout was curved. This video answered a million questions I never bothered to look up and it's very well made.

[SamClaney]

I was a kid when I went on my first underground tour and I've NEVER been able to visually understand how the underground was made, and this video finally made it make sense. Thanks for helping me understand my city a little better!

[saqibahmad]

Dude, i was born and raised in seattle and have been here 31 years, you've blown my mind. I was pausing almost every 10 seconds to inspect every inch of an old map or newspaper article. Thank you for showing Seattle some love!

[sethflower]

Seattle doesn't get enough love and recognition. It is one of the coolest places on earth. And, more than that, it is so mis-hated and misunderstood. This video was incredibly cool to watch as someone from Seattle.

[dawnchesbro]

Fun fact about the Denny Regrade: In parts of the city some original houses are raised up from the level of the sidewalk - sometimes a few feet, sometimes an entire story. Some sort of a retaining wall or large rocks holding the earth in. Not every house on the block will be raised, so it's not entire neighborhoods. The reason they are raised is because the Denny family gave incentives to new construction if they hauled away some of the extra fill produced from the regrading process. Many settlers - but not all because hauling fill is a back breaking job - took Denny up on the offer and used the extra rubble, dirt, stones to elevate their houses! So if you drive past an elevated seattle house with large boulders holding the earth in, those boulders are from the hill that Denny razed to the ground!

[TheDuckmissile]

An interesting thing you missed is that after they raised the streets but before they covered up the underground with a new raised sidewalk, they literally just had ladders going from the high sidewalk down to the 1st floor. So if you had to walk across the street, you had to climb this tall ladder up to the road, walk across, and then take it down again.

[confusedpufferfish]

Seattle is so beautiful with Mount Rainier embracing the mighty emerald metropolis, with orcas in Elliot Bay’s waters brimming with wildlife and the Pacific Northwest’s biggest port, and with conifer trees at every vista spreading their branches through the misty morning sky at heights the cathedrals of the old continent struggle to match.

[bethanyholt]

So happy you’ve made one of these video about Seattle, I’m visiting later this month and love that I’ll know all about the city’s history as I walk around!

[telche]

as a canadian living in Vancouver BC i love visiting seattle as it’s like a bigger sibling city to vancouver. please do a video covering Vancouver!

[mattchambers]

One correction towards the end of the video. The Embarcadero Fwy in SF did not collapse, the Cypress Freeway (Cypress Structure) in Oakland came down in the 89 Quake, killing 42 motorists. The Embarcadero Fwy was heavily damaged, hated by just a few more people than wanted it rebuilt and so it was taken down years later. 24:10

[Armondahad]

As a Seattleite who went on the Bill Speidel underground tour several years ago, I absolutely loved this video!! Really well done oratory and graphics, even the hand-drawn explanation of the re-build ;)

[ironmando]

I live in Seattle, have been on the underground tour a couple of times, and have also just done a bunch of personal research on the history of the city. Seattle really does have a storied history that has resulted in some VERY strange quirks that make no sense from a modern perspective, but make much more sense through the lens of history. This video explained the unusual circumstances of the "underground city", the reasons for it, the method of changing it, etc. VERY clearly and concisely. Well done, and 👍for you sir!

[PinkPixie]

AHHH So happy you did Seattle!!!! I commented a few weeks ago when I found your channel. We have such a oddity of a City and our history is so complex for how relatively young Seattle as a city really is. When you compare it to some of the East Coast cities.

[west]

Daniel, I enjoyed this video (and all your videos) so much! I moved from the Bay Area to Seattle in 1984 and lived there till 2017. Married there, kids born and educated there, taught Washington State history for a few years to junior high students there, got degrees from Seattle U and UW... career, etc. You get the idea. I moved back to the Bay Area and love it here, but always find Seattle more interesting than any other city on earth, with the possible exception of London. Your videos are terrific. Thank you for this one!

[PendragonDaGreat]

2:20 Someone else that noticed that!

It's also why a small amount of snow (which midwesterners would call a Tuesday in February) can cripple the city for a day or two. The ridges make it basically impossible to go east-west because the hills are steep enough that even with chains you start slipping on the ice.

[SagaciousSilence]

Seattle is gorgeous and has breathtaking views everywhere within the city because of all the hills.

[tomato]

You tend to find the most enthusiastic guides and experts, who luckily are warmest and friendlist of people.

[Bearded_Mortician]

I moved here 8 months ago, and this helps me understand everything! Thank you!

[peppapig]

I have lived in seattle my entire life (16), and this video was really interesting in explaining a lot of the history of why our city looks the way it does. Thank you!