History In Motion episodes

This 1930 silent film starts inexplicably with a few tantalizing seconds of a downtown Seattle street at night, in all its Untouchables-esque glory, with tawdry flashing neon and a blurry parade of passing headlights. Then, it settles into 15 minutes of the massive earthmoving that was the last of the regrades that leveled hills deemed endangering to growth by city leaders. Steam shovels, conveyor belts and tipping barges are seen in the foreground, with Seattle of 75+ years ago providing a riveting backdrop. Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.