First trolleys then Ducks made Seattle easier to see

EXPLORING "GREATER SEATTLE" became a regular pastime in the 1870s when it was first possible to walk directly through the woods to Lake Union along a narrow-gauge railroad bed and also out to Lake Washington by wide, worn paths along Madison Street and Yesler Way.

Commercial sightseeing arrived in the 1890s with the development of public transportation that reached scenic retreats on the same lakes. The Seattle Electric Co. promoted its cable cars and trolleys for both getting places and seeing them.

While it often took a generation for working families to afford motorcars, by 1907, the year this Seeing Seattle carrier posed along the new Lake Washington Boulevard, all the necessary materials were in place to invest capital in a sightseeing venture that required neither tracks nor propellers. Many streets were graded, some of them paved, tires were better, and powerful chain-driven "auto cars" could manage Seattle's hills.

Probably more than tourists, the generally carless but booming population paid the dollar to take the exhilarating ride. It was not cheap, and a souvenir photo was extra. In 1907, a trolley worker made $2 a day. Of course, during the year of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, 1909, many exploring choices were available, by rail, rubber and rudder. And it has never — during peacetime — stopped.

In 1996, I "instructed" television producer Brian Tracy in the historical sites he hoped his recycled amphibious "buses" would soon visit once he got his raucous Ride the Ducks tours clapping and singing through the busy core of this town and out onto Lake Union. Tracy is especially proud of the Coast Guard-certified sea captains that drive his web-footed fleet of dripping ducks.

Check out Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard's blog at www.pauldorpat.com.