Seattle has had a rough past, often by relying on only a single industry at a time and then rebounding with a new industry just as the previous is collapsing in on itself. In the fall of 1851, two courageous brothers landed at Alki Point on the west side of Elliot Bay. They spent a winter there before ultimately deciding to migrate to the east shores where they established what is now Seattle. The first major industry was logging. The timber trade proved to be the primary source of growth in this small northwestern town. With the protection of the bay and the abundant and lush millennia-old coniferous trees made Seattle the perfect location to start a major industry and a year later a man by the name of Henry Yesler began construction on the
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Since nearly every building was constructed of the local, timber, the fire spread too fast to extinguish. Even though the fire was ruinous, Seattle emerged from the ashes stronger than before. The city was rebuilt in brick and stone which inherently stimulated the economy, providing thousands of new jobs. It was just a few years later that gold was discovered in Canada and the steamship Portland traveling between its hometown and the gold docked in Seattle's renovated harbor with a ton of gold in its cargo hold. Seattle's climate and location made it an obvious transportation and supply center for those heading to and from the gold. Into the 20th century, Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, and the largest exporter in the United States, started its foundations in Seattle. William Boeing, the company's founder, had started in the timber industry that had previously dominated the city. His knowledge of timber allowed him to begin designing planes and eventually, he founded the Boeing aircraft industry. The new company had become world class in aircraft design and manufacturing. During World War II, Boeing was responsible for the design of the B-17 and the B-29, the most important bombers of the …show more content…
To fight the decline of downtown Seattle in the wake of the postwar economic downturn and the nationwide flight to the suburbs, the city hosted the Century 21 Exposition and the World's Fair in 1962. The future theme of the fair provided Seattle with many of its signature members of architecture including the Space Needle and the Monorail. However, in the 1970s with the beginning of the national oil crisis and the economic recession that followed, major companies (Boeing included) took a major hit and were forced to lay off large portions of their workforce. Due to its heavy reliance on Boeing as one of its primary employers, Seattle thus suffered an incredible economic setback and had the worst post-depression employment of any US city to date. Unlike its Midwestern counterparts, Seattle was fortunate enough to have quickly rebounded due primarily to its highly educated workforce and active harbor port. Boeing too recovered from the effects of the energy crises, but Seattle had already begun to diversify as new technology companies took residence in Seattle's undervalued real
Since nearly every building was constructed of the local, timber, the fire spread too fast to extinguish. Even though the fire was ruinous, Seattle emerged from the ashes stronger than before. The city was rebuilt in brick and stone which inherently stimulated the economy, providing thousands of new jobs. It was just a few years later that gold was discovered in Canada and the steamship Portland traveling between its hometown and the gold docked in Seattle's renovated harbor with a ton of gold in its cargo hold. Seattle's climate and location made it an obvious transportation and supply center for those heading to and from the gold. Into the 20th century, Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, and the largest exporter in the United States, started its foundations in Seattle. William Boeing, the company's founder, had started in the timber industry that had previously dominated the city. His knowledge of timber allowed him to begin designing planes and eventually, he founded the Boeing aircraft industry. The new company had become world class in aircraft design and manufacturing. During World War II, Boeing was responsible for the design of the B-17 and the B-29, the most important bombers of the …show more content…
To fight the decline of downtown Seattle in the wake of the postwar economic downturn and the nationwide flight to the suburbs, the city hosted the Century 21 Exposition and the World's Fair in 1962. The future theme of the fair provided Seattle with many of its signature members of architecture including the Space Needle and the Monorail. However, in the 1970s with the beginning of the national oil crisis and the economic recession that followed, major companies (Boeing included) took a major hit and were forced to lay off large portions of their workforce. Due to its heavy reliance on Boeing as one of its primary employers, Seattle thus suffered an incredible economic setback and had the worst post-depression employment of any US city to date. Unlike its Midwestern counterparts, Seattle was fortunate enough to have quickly rebounded due primarily to its highly educated workforce and active harbor port. Boeing too recovered from the effects of the energy crises, but Seattle had already begun to diversify as new technology companies took residence in Seattle's undervalued real