T",
II
A stu d
oZf
A RAILROiD T21Ri7iL
f or
SEATTEI
u-gest;od
scl-emefor uniification
ofrilroad facilities, ,'with
xuiing
iois for city pin
recomrflendat
in re lati oiont o and-
consideratioinis
in the viciniity o the station.
Submitted as partial
for
To:
the Degree
fulfillment
o the reuirements
of v,5TER I6H A;CEITCTUF'
Wiliam Wilson Wurster, Dean
Schoolof'Arciiteecture al1 rlning
,t
Lassaco!1usetts Institute
of Technology
September 20, 146
,
I..
ei
By:
E
Arnold
B.
Gororon Gaine es
rch.,
Universityr of iiashin,'ton
1
el,42
J
'
(J
Cambridge, Massachusetts
ekteIber 9, 1946
William
School
ilson urster, Dean
of z£rchitecture and Plannring
1assachusetts Institute of Techziology
Cambridge,
~Massachusetts
Dear Dean Wurster:
I wish to submit for your consideration, this Thesis,
as partial fulfillment of the re.-uirem.nts for the
Degree of aster
of Architecture.
The Thesis consists
existing civic
itself.
of a comprehensive study of the
roblems with relation
to a
roposed
I have presented a possible solution to the
problems which I hope will meet with your aproval.
I.
as patial
~ulfllmen
of-ther
i<mit
o h
i5
Aclklowle
emg
at:
I am indebted to many ersons for their invaluable
assistance in the formulation of this report and their
able criticismof the design
1.
submitted.
,
To J.i'.A.Bollong, City traffic Engin
"
se
ttle,
Washington, go my sincere than s for his tremendous
contribution, to the formulation of this report.
enthusiasm in the
roject was exceeding welcome and
served as an effective
2.
His
inspiration
I am indebted.to Dean W.i. tVurster
to me.
and Professors
Anderson, Beckwith, Brown, Kennedy, MeVoy and Greely
of the School of Architecture and Planning for their
able criticism and excellent contributions.
Professors Bone and Babcock of the Civil Engineering
Department assisted in the Engineering aspect of the
proble m.
3.
There are many thus who contributed, both from
Seattle and from Boston.
They are listed as Informa-
tion Sources in Appendix A.
4.
I wish to thazk my father-in-law, Michael Klepach Sr.
and brother-in-law,
Michael Klepach Jr. for their
patience, understaalding and cooperation in securing on
the sot
5i
data.
Lastly, I am grateful for the patience,unfailing
confidence and &ble stenographic assistance contributed
by my wife.
Colate'oits
Letter of Submittal
meit
me
d
Ac2aowlc
e Retros e ctio.
attle
le 's
Sea-~tt
nd Rele otioi.
ina
Dil1e
xixstn~i Rilro3d Termiial Fatcilities
5
9
21
T'ie eroDiem
00
The Site
57
The 2rogram
60
The Solution
65
Inf ormat ion Source s
76
Bibliogra.hy
77
Appendix
80
j
T
Fo-
w
o
'd
On te
'olloiL
railroa&
peos
is
termi-n:ulsit-aution o
iy stAdy has ri-:cipaly
teriiiiaL
a co;±rehelsive
bau.iding
d
o1u
s-ll
city of Sieattle, :ashi;tton.
been coilcerxe- .t;iLh te
Repet- a reference however,
itse lf
A_
m
-..5 f ..
is made
o other tributary
ilseiL;l.
I have
V
itself .
I have t-`Uellpted.
to
- -1 -IandL
bo
1o .te
L
-
or
hrTW1-
tL e
-1
-
robleas,
t o'lai
te
I
a-L
_L
I
rJr
such fashion as to insure a
't
0
the solution
4
,
.
yZe all
1
of
UrobleLlls
vnualyzeil problems
A-
t
-
2 1.1
rlitarV
.iI
rFon
_Le-ns
_
_
.
Yn
lausible, workable scheme
of p'ublic develoiment.
The solution
is by no eans
intended
to be final.
To
1ro-erly design such a builiizg,
it wotould
recuire a
working coi.mittee of all parties
concerned,.
schei.e relrecents
The
the work of but one iLidividaal
and
is intedea to be merely a ossible solution.
If this solution
serves to provoke te
minds of ersoxns
who are in a kositiou to aff'ect or propose a chngs
the existing situatio,
I
it is successful.
in
11
J,
12I
' Z
SEATTIE : ?ETl.UPS
Ti-- i and. t. .F-.CTION
F,
I.
i
5--
T'
7-.
X
1k
Seattle:
ii
::
Rctrose.ction and Roflection
It has been said th-t the first
alf-million population
of a growing city is te
to obtain; the rest
hraest
.1
:i
comes more easity.
has
Seattle
just
jpoulation
If that is the case, the City of
begun to grow.
S;ettle 's re-war
(1940 census) was recorded at 368,30-.
This figure grew in the war ye;.rs to 480,000 in 1943,
and v.as reputed to be over 600,000 at the peak of war
production in 1945.
fter
V-J
day, U;ith the closin
of many of the w;ar
industries; Boeings, Associated Shipyards, Todd-2&acific
etc., there was the usual trend toiwardthe de-population of the city, which usually follows boom periods.
However, recent reports and trends in the city indicate
that large numbers of people who migrated to the city
during war years, are staying on to te
up
e acetime
residence, or, if they have left, are returning with
their families to tale uij
to thisstartling
I
ermanent
residence.
increase of poulation,
Added
is t
in-
crease noted in the outlying districts of the city.
These districts must be considered, for Seattle, like
all other growing cities, is raidily approaching the
point
where
all
o
these communities will have to be
considered in theGreater Seattle Are~L,hence unier
the influence of Seattle's grovth and expansion.
Seattle's
time
growtnhhas been partly
industry,
due to inflated
and. artly to discovery by
eople
warand
6
indas tr that the Pacific
unidevelo,.ed. ossibilites.
iorthwies holds a ealth of
There is every reason to
believe thLft te ezistin industry will not return to
prewar levels. Contrarily, it is the ozlnion of exper-s nat inawstry Is merely
Doeglnn.llg
n Tne city.
Possibilities in the City itself, and in its neighboring comzuanitiesare unlimited.
There are several
rin-
cipal reasons.for this belief.
Geogra hically:
Seattle
has a fine
inlandr. harbor.
She is th& key
ort
with regard to future foreign trade with the Orient
and Russia.
he is literally the gateway to ilaska and
the wealth located
there.
The mild equable climate
of Utestern ashington keeps the waters of Puget Sound
navigable the year around, thus facilitating sii ping
and making continuous industrial activities
ossible.
Plentiful moisuOure romotes forest growth and encourages agriculture.
Lack- of extreme temperatures
make Seattle attractive to future residents, and the
scenic nature of tle entire Pacific Northwest mkes
it an unsurpassed vacation mecca.
temperature is 51.3 degres
ad
The mean annual
no.tmal annual rainfll,
33.4 inches.
Natural Resources:
The economy of the entire area is based on the expansive
stands of virgin timber.
These enable the State of
Washingtonto lead all other states
in thenation
in the
maufactureof :lywrooa, mill products, dressed mill
I
7
izc.t tr t.
tatr_ Coe:
iun¥a-
U
i
.S thLre uli
.1u'Lre
t>ke ±ost i:o.r
it
potentialities
oZ hyi?&r-eectr c i:ow;er.
Ed-na Ferber,
'Seattle
i
uss~t
ongi'
"Great
couls huv-. bern tbhe most beautiu.t
thl.; world.
that
eajit
i
ited.
rote,
cit
Perha-,s she my sonmed-ybe."
tha"t EZdna ierber
in
I believe
was odovwed
ever a city
ri beoiiieag . beartiful city,
with the raJmat;erl.ls
Seatle
Zor the
pseULLo-saga,
her
rhi e
kinc.
-¥as.
It rermains to be see
i
aindCity Governraent ;-ill
thle
rogressive
citlt;izenry
have the courage to meet
th. chall ng.
C)
SLE22L 'c I
D
I
"i
S ~eattle's DilZnia:
Se:-ttle'sr i-L w:tr growth
As a resu.lt
'of
-and
in view
of ;eranticipted
fLuture ex-rasion, civic officiEals
hav;a zjnit will conLinue to
in 'te
=
ith her
'
Yetropolitan
s
be coicerned with c
;
".
i
nt...
e
in-
grO"ing
Ls
re a
In years .ast, mranycivic imroveil;ent .rojects have
been sggssted
have been
Some of
by visionary citizens.
ood, others strictly for
has alw.u-ysbeen in need of
these
ublicity.
n overall
attern
purpose with rgard. to civic gro vth.
Li
Seattle
of
1909 a City
pllanwas formulated by a Mri. Bogue.
Id:r.
Bogue was
hired
to present
b
the city as a city planner,
of the-city
and to melce recommendations
future growth and imiroveient.
a study
as to its
The Bogue P1an was a
sound document in many respects, with a degree of
excellence and foresight.
This ilat-i
"
virtually, before its start.
bandoned.,
Certain financial inter-
ests in the city have since that time, blocked most
proposals for City
lanning.
As a result, Seattle has
grown lile a weed, in no fixed direction or pattern
and with no definite
rogram.
As a result, the City,'
which has capabilities of being a beautiful, well
planned center, has failed to avail itself of its
natural beauty and advantages.
By way of comparison,
cities such as Boston, New York and Chicago are not
blessed with the natural scenic i-anorama,as is Seattle
and yet these cities, as old as they are, and despite
.I
I
j
F
..r
r
n
h
P
·t
r·
j
r.
r
I1
.t
i
to
have managed to
tremendous growth and e-ansion,
their
retain or reclaim certain areas in an effort to beautify
Bostonhas streets like Commonwealth
their cities.
Avenue,
the Fellsway, Veteran's
emorial i)rive and
on.
wide,
aid extremely p-leasantto drive
landscaped,
beautifully
are
which
others, all major traffic arteries,
NewYork has the Hutchison and. Hudson River Park-
ways,Chicago has Michigan Av;nue.
All these are main
thorofares, are beautiful as well as efficient.
Seattle has so far failed dismally in this respect.
Her chief arteries, Alaskan Way, Aurora Avenue,
Fourth Avenue South and others, are strictly widths
of -pavement with little attempt made at beautification..
In the midst of Boston is the "Common" a large expanse
of
ark which offers a
moil an
leasant relief from the tur-
heat of her business section,
New York has Central Park.
Similarly,
Seattle's closest park is
Volunteer Park, many,miles removed..
All this further emphasizedthe need for at least an
overall pattern of Civic improvement and beautification.
In January 1945, Mayor William F. Devin
Planning Commission with the
urose
created
a City
of reporting on
a "Proposed Public Buildings Area" for Seattle.
Briefly, this report suggests an area for
public buildings area to house all
resent and future
City-County offices. (see opiosite page)
recommends tat
post- office,
pro:osed
It also
federal government offices, such as
Federal
Buildiin, etc. be incoriorated
11
as rmachas ossiblevith the local
city
and county
offices
The i. is to have all public governaent
facilities in a unifiea location ith easy reach of all
concerned and of each other.
The Federal government
has exjressed a willingness to cooerate
as much as
p ossible Ywithany civic plan the city will offer.
This project
constiktutes the first real stej- to;-ard
an over;ll plan the City has udertaken
history.
-n its modern
The results of that re .ort, Ijublished in
May 1945, show that te
best possible -lace for a
p;ublic buildings area is the tra bounded on the est
by Fifth Avenue; the south by Jefferson Street; the
west b Third Avenue; and the north by Columbia Street.
(see
xhibit A)
recommendation
In addition, the Coiission
as to the elimination
made
and beautifica-
tion of slum areas in the vicinity of the railroad
terminals.
It is important to note the distinct and
definite relation between this proposed area and the
railroad terminal area.
In June 1945, Mr. J.W.A.Bollon6, City Traffic Engineer,
formulated. a re-ort regarding modernization of the railroad passenger terminals in the city.
of this re ort with th
tt
of the City
A combination
laing
ruveals a definite trend in one direction.
report sa
uplements
aaazing agreement
of the re.ortin
the other, and. ertain
Commission
Eiach
ponts
-showed
of inteint des ite the disassociation
groaps.
Though I, as an Achitect,
whose
erogative it
is
to
do not agree with te overall character of
the proposals in setch form, I amheartily in accord
criticise,
with their intent.
are
tremendously
I believe the ro1-osals, basically,
necessary.
1.y chief reaction is to
ca ution the City Officifls to whom tese
mistak-es madie b
been made, not to make te
cities of similar problers.
satisfy the needs for a
allevite
the
pages)
modernization
show merely an attem-t to
with
resent confusion,
no recommend-
ations for exyansion or beautification.
is not to be criticised for this,
Architect
his
roblem is traffic.
certainly commend him for bing
AM
shortcomings
2tr.Bollong
he is not an
and excellent job in his trIffic
architectural
Com-
5 years or more.
eriod of
Station
ir. Bollong's setchies of iUnrion
following
other
1ilnnlig
The City
have
iroosed area will reasonably
mission indicates its
(see
reorts
I believe he does
laulmingand I
conscious of te
of the railroad
terminals.
i
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--------------------
li?4AUUUALSTAIVN
MCE
IDIPNIZIDN
CDOIY
IN THE
SEEAITLUE
---~- 1-· -
TlIRJACI
r-·- ,
l 1-
AlPIPIPIRAC IHAIRIRI IIDIR
/6
A o
r
A ijasseingi-Mr te rminilal .rejectjshiouioL. be so l0oc.te d anld
.i
i·
i
"-s:
s
designod. as to coor£iL; e o;sfar as reasolcb:ly
iracticabie ;vitl other civic activities.
Fre.le ,tly
i- s foud cesirablc
'to
;axe
e;erai
t
cvi
i.0i rov e
ts
S the samlietitie
the terminl
Lod&-ficatioii of street
is being co,; trcted.
~ro;..ces
is
l.:-ost .i: s5
6
T;e costs si.ould be aSSm-Cedby te ,artics
inivolved.
-9
'·d
i
r
beniefitecL. Closo coeration
committee, the -lininofficers
of the city,
is necess;ry
1
betweox
Board. o te
City, - eutive
niadp!rhis other
in.order tat
teriinal
te
civic
groups,
s.ici
new legislation
as may
be necessary shall be faira;., e,.uitable to all parties
at intere st.
I believe it wouldibe a istak to rehabilitate slum
areas, creating Lar s .:ndL
green areas without modernizing
the terlinals.
It iould be lii.eplanting
trees t
garba~ge dump; th-kesmell lingers
a
on.
The cre tion
ublic
buildings are ad. th; modernization of rail-
road terminals brings u the ever i
paring
ortat
to accomoltate th~,;r_ in
ap earaPace of th-e re abiliiate.
green areas,
of-'ers
for an underground L>rhin
in Sn ra;-ciso.
mistaie of
ill
l-n to b-
o the tree.dous
of vehicles wihichlwi-il a e-xarto con:est
resultalt
roblem of
sisace. If Seattle is to avoid. te
certain cities, i. e. 30Ston, ess.sh-e
able
of
number
the arenas.
The
slum areas and the
w ronderfLl oortunitJy
area sch
as at Union ;I.u;re
Boston is nowrealimin hir
istale
17
in
t
atii-i:- to cieveio, similar areas ucder th_-Coriaio.;;
"s
roposedi
ears
S2
ago,
aid. is nlov negotiiatinj
irin
mis
te undrgrouxnd
construct
If
lot
.;uestion
Se-ttle plans to rehabilitate the areas in
should be given
it is my o]inion that considertion
imnied.itol,-to the development
to
oL' underFrrouc
i.ar.ing-
in that area.
As further argunent against te
of
i roose d modernization
the railroad terminals, as suggestAd by the Traffic
Engineer,
I would
of an overhead
like to
oint out that the
link of Airport
roposl
iay and. Second Avenue.
would gre-atly jeopardize any fiuture program for the
expansion and modernization of'railroad facilities,
In the succeedeingsection of this report, a
complete analysis of the situation is made, showing
definite reasons
or the suggested improvement.
The immediate public
reaction is, of course, going to
be, *Who is to pay for this?"'
project
The finaincing of this
would involve considerable
money but the roblem
of finance is not too serious after it is nalized.
The creation of
First,
park area alone
ould do mny things.
nit would. clean out a section which is a fin.L
cial liability becauseofits filth, fire hazaraand
of illegal
its accumulazioni
its creation
would.hve
activities.
a tremendous
Secondly,
impact on land
values in tiie immediate vicinity.
=.san eample, PlarkRivenuein New York City w
oeen railroactyard.. The rsult:nt
covexringovr,
once an
and
r:1~I'~30V1
creation of this beautiful sret,
adjir-ining it,
soari;
sent land. values
to the point viere tod.ayrit i.
tha richest L1d. in the would..
cVoy,
Professor of City
and former meiJibe
r of the City
Oregon, sttes
Portld,
true
with
a ooinin, the. Boston Common.
respectto ro-erties
Mr. A.J.
This is
lanning
that
were adv.anlced.
in the City of
Ln.i±int
.I.T.
Board of
hsn similar iproblems
ortl&d., the City Tax
Assessor revealed that tax increases alone xoald go
far toward lowering the amortization time of any loans
incurred.
concur
In addition, there is
to the
city
from te
the
revenue
parking lot.
that
wrould
It would be
possible to obtain parking area for from 2500 to 5000
automobiles.
The railroad
comanies
vould
also bonefit.
The improvement of facilites would definitely serve
to aid in the increase
of traffic
of order where confusion now reigns,
vol-Tus.
would
The creation
enable
greater efficiency in operation, increased schedules.
Cleanliness and efficiency would greatly increase
t:e service
it can offer to the
rasseier.
In these
days of bus and air competition, this factor becomes
quite important.
odernization could serve to create
on property now owned by the railroad comlanies,
facilities for their offices and officers, thereby
enabling them to eliminate costly rents jpaid
in the city.
Sufficient
elsewhere
lannin will enable a definite
increase in concession and rent tbleoffice spac which
19
:I
will result in increase& reve-nue. It
however, to acl.ievecooLeration from
factions and& industries
:i·
Lit ioe...ver, anIL vale
involved.
'to the city,
all
be necessary,
b-iLl
com-,canies,
The resultant
bene-
gre.tlyover-
sha&co-vs any obstacle.
1
t
r
s
a
i
i·
:i
r
·I
t
20
~ISTI2LTG LROAD
TL~IiaI&I F CILiT ES
__·___
I
.. .
.~~~~~~
VIEW
A
21
I·~
'Ierm
linals:
is t i
There :re to rtailvav ti'oi nais in ;eatt le
and oerated
One is o,.ned
by the Union -aci-fic Railroad Coma4,ayand is
knlownas the Union iassenger
tation.
The other is the
King Strost Passengcr Station; it is oned
the Great
At
orthern ad
resent,
o-e-ating
and. operated.by
racificRailroad Com.anies.
iorthern
in and out of
eacsle
are four major
railway companies: Union -acific, Great Eiorthern,J orthern
Pacific,
adition
and Chicago,
411iliwaukee, St.
here are the Oregon-1as1ington
Navig.t .Ioion
ComEan
a.
the
Union 'tation hand.ies .
t. fatuland
acific
The majority
acific trains.
igures
obtaLn-ed.at tlis
advises me ta>
depait
and
ilwaukee
t_tion handles
acific.
of trains in and out of Seattle
i few. trains
In
Coast Railroad.
ing Street
from Ore-on aniidalifornia to te
Com-ilte
ailroad
Un
1ion _Facific and Chicago,
Great'Northern and. orthern
ELast.
and.
waul aciLic.
are to and
outh, atndChicago to the
o erat-e niorth to 3British Columbia.
on arrivals
timc.
and.departares could not be
The ,ortherin
aci_-,c 11ailivayrComb=any
a roximately 400 cars arrive
daily and 00
or that comrany ±one. They estimate that theiL
co:iy-ai;a:landls
approximately 1000
assengers
The four major companies hlandle comparable
a day.
loacLs, so it
is reasonable safe to place the total volume per day in the
vicinity
of 4000 passengers,
At proesent, Northern zPacific is building six new passenger
trains, diesel electric streamliners, with a total of
about 60 cars.
re lorts a dozen new diesel
in oeration
Seattle.
Sil.Paukee,
aSt.2aul
and Pacific
Chicago,
electric
also
strcamlinzers soon to be
between Chicago, AMinneapolis,St. Paul and
1
Tlhisschedule of departures is
an
indicationL of the traffic
incomplete, but it gives
asd its destination
June 1, 1946
King Street Station
Average
Time of
De
__Parture
7:00
A.1M.
.7:15
8:00
8:15
8:20
A.M.
A.M.
A.M.
A.M.
8:30 A.M.
12:01 P.IM.
5:00 P.M.
6:10 "'.M.
9:15
P.}I.
9:30 P.M.
10:00 P.M.
Destination
No. of
Passengers
Out
__
25
15
Grays Harbor
Vancouver B.C.
Spokane and East
Vancouver B.C.
iortland
100
100
150
Spokane
100
Portland-Calif ornia
Vancouver B.C.
Spokane and East
Chicago N.P.
Chicago G.N.
St. Paul G.N.
250
75
75
200
275
15
ling Street Station has eight loading tracks.
Union Station
De artuure
4:30 P.M.
9:30 P.L.
11:30 P.M.
Destination
Xas senge rs
Portland and South
317 in
Chicago
ilw.
Portland and South
184 out
a 81 out
154 out
Union Station has foulrloading tracks, but only two are used.
24
9)f
"AI
7q
F
~?i
.
T
The railway terminal sit ation in,Seattle today is, by
comparison with mode-i'nerminals, as obsolete and.outmoded
as the Chic Sale outhouse
bathroom,
"
is compared. with
but even in this comparison,
as a decidedly function~.l bilaing
road termijnals do not.
the Chic Sale remains
or indirectly
are many activities directly influenced by the
s
terminal.
"
a:
..,'·d
"
;I·
in-
fluence railroad terminal operation, andconversely, there
·;.
:3
tz
I·r
·-·i ·
modern
where the Seatule rail-
There are many problems which1directly
r
i·
tle
I have endeavored
to study the existing
analize it and. present the facts.
railroa.d
situation,
to
I am greatly indebted to
J.W.A.Bollong, City Traffic Engineer for his enthusiastic
cooperation and invaluaabl aid.
The followin
is an
r
;d
analysis and report on existing facilities.
Te rminals in General:
The to
.. r
:3:
I
terminals are both antiquaated and obsolete.
were built over 25 years
They
ago in th2 age of th- erly
steam trains and though they no
ouabtwere useful in th.eir
day, they are hopelessly outmode&d.The terminals are
aesthetically,
relics
of bygone dary, old, dirty and
They present a dismal outlook and a depressing
unattractive.
impression on the traveler. (see
pcconmpaying
,hotos
Terminal. rc:
In the i..:odiate, vicinity of -the terminals is Settle 's
slum area.
w.hich is
This consists~ of &a rez o maay, city blocks
.nov.
cs the ":id.rod.-
It is
onrised
of
.6
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C:.:?roouaiII:hoa:es,
beer taverns,grai bliig
cfes,
houses of ;rostitutu.ion
and all the accnmulzuuted.
filth
C.com]ani.s such activities
cheap
gambles,
dens,
that
It is the hangout of bumns,
prostitutes and.so forth.
'rafnfic:
Street 4ii.hroachusand.&
The two stations
are located. across
the street
from one
This street (Fourth -ve. So)
another. (see adjo;iningmap)
between the two stations
is perh;4i.ps
the most
i.oz tant
thoroughfare in th;
traffic scheme. it
is
city
entry to the city fronm the
South,
major
and. is the Seattle
portion
of U.S. 99, the chief north-south highway on the Pacific
Coast-.
It
hndles
indispensable
a large
portion
in the traffic
im ortant southern artery,
of the city traffic alndis
scheaae.
It is fed by another
irport nay,
t a point 1000 feet
before its intersection x:ith Jackson Street on which the
two terminals are located.. This intersection of'Fourth
Avenue South and Jackson Street prodaces a heavily conjested
area not only because of those to
streets but also because
of the'problem of vehicular traffic usually encountered at
a railway terminal.
In years past, the railroads hve
into the city from the south.
had vacated, several roads
The City Traffic Engineer
informs me that there are remaining, only four highways from
the South where there shoul. be eight or ten.
It therefore
ensues that elimination of Fourth .t-venue
South to ease
traffic at' the te rmin'el re:;
visable.
is impracticable
and inad-
The problem is to plan around.this street and
30
b
r:lief
of its
h ohv¥,',
terminals
.i
I
vicinit$y.
or in the iediAte
minglilng of taxicabs,
ever i resent
the entire
no pgrkrings ce t the
~Theyrovide virtually
termigls .
to
v:hicular traffic of present diay rilix-ay
accorodato tho
i
etensions,
us futLujehigshlray
;y"..
.l erss
The terminals themselves niveo
virtu-11y no faciliti;s
elev-tee
:B
ovcrlo, by
b; vrio
strce :i o
sfrte,
private
There is a co-
nd. trLicks, with
crs
the
thlougth traffic.
from almost evei-y viewl-oint is anti;uated
I
Functionally,
·i
r·
is i. need o i rove
iooWi
;
Li'?
:i
·;
aesthetically
anddeconomiclly the situation
t.
a.id.
Utitgoing
lassen.gers:
The incoming assenger is conafrot_-ed with chaos from the
moLmin he
rzive;.
He enters
tie
track
concourse
same doors as are used by outgoing assengers.
he has to cross trac s to get th:ore.
far from adie Lute,
poorly planLied
passenger.-he pjssnager,
if in
climb m.ny staiirsto
Fre uently
oaggage
facilitics
are
'andinconvenient to the
ing Street
rrive at street level.
street level he frequently
by the
ha-s to wlk
long
Stationmust
On arrival at
disttance
to
reach trdnsportaion faciliti:s, there being very little
. for
rkn-;inL rre-u.
t-icabs,
autos or buses at the station.
Th!outgoing
:1>ssenrfrs h:.trvesitlilar
problems plus the
uncert'ainty of v;hichstitio.i they are to deiart from and
the resaltat
'
co*nfozion of tr.ansfer i7 c-se of mist2k:.
I
The City Traffic nlsiner,
an exhaustive study
!ir. J.W.A.Bollong, hs
tie traffic
situt'lion
iniade
anL hs
presented his reco'ilen&ttioi-s for its solution.
Altiough
I
m in ccord with most o
atiols, those
wvhich affect
have been revised to sut
the
his
railrozd.
t;he situation
reco-en-
termiim-l
&re-a
as I see it.
My solution to tie ter.i
inal problem involves the
overall traffic picture;
of the major traffic
my
qndsiggested
scheie is
solution
resent along
recolmendat ioLns as set forth by:vir. Bollong.
ith the
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LIMITED WAY
AND
1FEDERAL HIHWAY
ROUTES
INTO
%T4Rtoum
CITY O
AND
ALENA
AL ER4NATE
LOCATIONS-
Lm, L.
C
SEA"TTLE
METAOPOLITANAREA
:
1 ,t't
A
PT
=--3
PROP.DNIDEDHI.4WAN
PROP.ELEVATD HIGHWAY
Indi-
4*44"*
U..ROUTES
W.MAQOINAL
WAY
PROP.
,. ,
;;'li,
0
,am
- PROP.U.S.ROTE RgLOCATIONS
- PROP.DEPRESSEDHIHA4WAN
.
Baggage:
at the station is transferred to
Baggage arrvin
baggage roois, often crossing ad. recrossing public
traffic
to and. from trains.
In Xing Street
Sttion,
thiebaggage ioomn is at track level coipellin- jassengers
to carry bags up or down stairs to street level.
Taxicabs,
Passenger
Cars, Buses, etc.:
In contr:istto
safe esy
odern stations w-hich rovide adequate
approach, loading, unloading,rnd.
taxicabs, autos and bses;
for re& caps andd ortors;
esy
exit of
access to these areas
and. ease of tr'ansf;r of
passenger and.luggagc to train and.waiting sace,
the
Seattle facilities are wholly inadequate.
In the case of King Street
Station there is a co-
mingling of baggage truoks, Drivate cars, mail trucks,
express trucks and other traffic in the area now used
by the taxicabs.
This area in its present use is
entirely inadequate even to serve the taxi trade.
Union Station has only a small sace
available directly
in front of.the station which is used by taxicabs.
This space is not only inadequate but difficult of
access and exit.
vate car parking.
luggae
There is no sace
available for pri-
Passengers must walk and carry
several -blocks.
Both facilites
are hampered by inadequate planning.
There is no facility at the station itself for Rail-
36
way x-ress.
This :-erhais is just s well since
freight should not miinglewitlh passengers . However,
the mriethodof trnilsfer of iEi:ress to trains is very
slow and difficult.
The postal problem is in need. of solution also.
is no direct
means
of trzisfer o
post office building.
There
mail from car to
It is necessary
to load mail
.ort
on trucks at Union Station, trails
it via truck-
to the Post Office Terminal two blocks away then unload and distribute
to the various
de artments.
is a slot, tedious and costly pocess.
This
II
TILEE zi"RBOB131"VI
The Problem:
It would, in my opinion, be senseless to attempt a
program of remlodellingon the terminals.
of such a plan could hardly hole
The results
to achieve an ideal
solution, and the cost of such an attemt' would be
out of proportion to the
On preceding pages
results
I have discussed.the relation of
the railroad terminal to
Public Buildings Area.
important features
achieved.
rking
areas and the proposed
There are, however, several
of a railroad terminal which have
d.irectrelation to several other activities.
These
activities are, the terminal station, (including
baggage problemls)
ost Of ice Terminal and Railway
Express ComI.any. The handling of mail and exiress, and
the conjunction thereof with the handling of baggage,
are essential and integral iurts of passenger terminal
oe; ration.
The necessary facilities should be
in cooperation with the express and. postal
laenned
officials
conoerned.
The terminal station itself involves problems of
passenger comfort, dninug.facilitieq, baggage, parcel
service,
telephone,
things.
One common failure of terminals is to over-
telegraph and a host of other
look the need for adequate office space to service
the use of the railroad
out of the station.
'-..
.
a. -;,
transfer
and
companies
operating
in and
In these days of si;eedand
use of varied
means of transporta-tion,
it is necessary
bus trminal
to consider
the practicability
in th- ime-Iiait
of a
vicinity, also transfer
service to ad. from airports and steamship piers.
the present use
in Los Angeles
of helicopters
With
to
dieliver mail, it is not inconceivable that helicopter
service
may be inaugurate
to tranlsfer
assergers
railroad terminals to airi.orts, and vice vrsa.
from
In
addition to the overall parking areas one must take
cognizance of the fact the individual
emloyees
Sumarizing,
shoaild be
arking
or
rovided.
the problems which have a direct
bearing
on the Railroad terminal are:
1.
Terminal Station
2.
Terminal office building
3.
iEmployees .;arking
4. Public arking
5.
Railway Express
6.
Post Office Terminal
7.
Helicoipter field
Comparny
From the engineering standpoint, '.roblemsof track
arrangement, switching movements, signalling euipment,
coach yards, locomotive terminal, etc.
these
SufLicient of
roblems need little solving as they oerate
present.
at
I will be coincer;ed only with the track
arrangement at the station and necessary clearances,
ri•hts of way, etc. to permit an economical and functional system.
39
staudy of the
I have madie an exhaustive
every important angle
roblem
from
A great deal of contribution
J.a.I..Bollong,
to this study has been maldeby Hiwr.
te
Seattle TrafficEngineer,
of
the City of Seattle,
roadLEngineiring,
Of Railway
Messrs.
.
City Plarming Commission
J. Bone, Professor of Rail-
.I.T. Chas
.
Bonner, Superintendeit
Mail Service, Boston, IMassachusetts;
ullivm,
Lord, ad
Flaherty of the
ew York,
New Haven, and Connecticut Railroad; and hir.Maloney,
Superintendentof Railway Express Comany
The results of my
of Boston,Mass.
uest for information about the
roduced the following considpertinent problems has -erations, many of which are listed as desirable or
necessary, by the American Railway Engineer Association's
.Manual.
These requireents
anc suggestions cover terminal
stations in general but are reviewed and mentioned
here to
resent- all possible considertions.
40
Track arrangement:
The track iayout
shoul
be provided
any time to accommodate
s my
be required
at.
straightfor,#ardly and without
interf-rence the contemplatea schedulea movement of trains
and the tributary svitching movements to
nd from the sta-
tion , with a proper mrgin
for extra sections or delayed
as wrell s
increase
.trains,
'or ny prcdictble
in volume
of traffic.
The track layout should be designed ith length of turnouts-as w·equiredfor the proer
necessary
circuits
clearances
signarl indications, and
as required.for operation of track
so th-.t a system
of fixeL signl-ls or interlocking
may be installed whenever desired ;ithout restricting the
use of any of the routes
of the '.ecessity of aamitional
track changes.
Station tracks should be .rovidea sufficient in number to
accommodte
at one tirnethe contemplated schedule movement
of trains, tith
liberal mrgin
off-scheaule arrivals or
clear length
and lateral
for extra sections and
epartures, and should be of such
spacing
as may be reQuired. to fit-
the st.tion platform layout and to accommoate
without
congestion the essential functions of the station platform
service.
fixed
ivhile
the number of station tracks
by the number
is
largely
of trains to be accommod'ated at periows
c- -of maximal density, i
1-
also
to some extent
the type ana size of the station,
may
epenu upon
the lengths of the sta-
tion tracks,
the riees
design
of quireo
the throat,
the pro:imity
- ne ¢essc~ry
clear<as re
woz;operation
of tr-2of
the coach yar. ~ad locomotive teriimizl
nti the maethod of o
of trz'fic,
chL.-r-Lct~r
aiy
order to acco-:odL&te
volume
or i;eakvolume
rS/actical, etra
reserved
In
~eW:ation.
iredo''ble icre-se i
of traffic,
sce
to be occusied
te
fcilities,
or bot-,
average
te
insof _~ras
s ould be initially
secured. and
by t;haditional tracks
ani
lat-
forms that would be required therefor.
A sufficient nunber of station trcIks long enouglito
acconmodate the miximum length trains, nd.so located
as to assure flexibility
should be provided.
of oeration,
Possibility of future increase in lenth
of trains should
be considered.
The through
n. loop types of station are suerior
stub st.; ioL
from the standpoint of train oeration.
to the
Street airoaches:
Street ap,:roachesshoulldreceive particular attention and
care be exercised
number
to see tat
aid. 1iidth; convenient;
they are sufficient
so locted
aL
in
designed.
as to lead from or around, and not directiiig into, lines
of traffic congestion; that foot pssengers
and vehicular
on independnientlines of tr-avel without
havethieir
traffic
the necessity for crossing each other at grde; that ample
accomnmodationfor vehicles hC:nd.liin
express be
rovided at
oints wAich
bagg
ge,
mail
and.
ill not interfere
with free movement of taxic:bs, motor busses, street
cars,
.rivate conveyances, or foot passengers.
The desirability of' racticability of .roviding subw.ys
for foot
ssengers
of adjoining
o cross to -he oosite
streets shouild be carefully
provision be not mace for this
sidewalks
consicdereu.
If
t the outset, pipes,
conduits, sewers, etc., may mx e it
ifficult, expensive,
and perhaps im-racticlble to co so later.
nmple provision should be made for convenient access to
taxi service within o
ajucent
convenient access to sreet
to the station; also for
c:.rs,elevated to undergrounn.
railways, busses, and other local transport-tion systems.
Within reason, such means of access should be under cover.
it is essential
that taxicabs
be able promptly
to reach the
point where their passengers for the station should alight,
and to leave thaetpoint to i-akeway for other arriving
·
taxicabs.
It is even more essential th-..t
the parking line
for empty taxicabs.permit the .rompt
picking ur
of pass-
engers leaving the station via the usual exit, and at the
same time not interfere with other vehicular traffic.
Stat LonProper:
The station proper is assume to incluae all the facilities
ziJ F
requirea for the complete accommodationof passe-.gers ana
t-heir btloings
between the public entrances and the
trains; also such facilities
as the railway companyshall
have to provide for the handling of mail a. express.
It
omprises:
1. The ain building, in which is include. all the facilities meeting all possible proper
emans
way company of passengers prior to their
upon the rail-.
eparture or
subsecue.it
to th ir arrival oil traizns, including fcilities
for the receit
and. delivery of checeu
space and conveni:nce economically
:
'"'.
il
thorof..res coniecting
hnd
baggage if
ermit.
thr main building
with the
station pl.tforms, such as stairways, elevators, ramps,
i
ana. other
passage way ana outside
concourses,where pro.-
vi:de. incluaing all housing nd shelter thereof.
3.
The station tracks and the appurtenant platforms on
which passengers,
baggage, mail and express are loaraed
u .o o unloadea from the trains
on the station
tracks,
including athe levators, :'amps,or other runways having to
be
proviaeu
by the railwa.ytcomia:4±y,upon which baggage,
ex ress a:d mail are trucked to or from the station plat.
forms,including
all ousing ai
4.
shelter thereof.
All other buildings having to be provied
by the rail-
way companies to accommoodatethe assembly an. the public
receipt and delivery o
baggage,
express or mail for
movement or after arrival on trains at the station.
5.
llroadways, platforms
a. parking spaces having to
be provided by the railway company to accommodate taxi-
cabs and other public vehicles and private vehicles,
handling
people
to and from the station, including all
andshelter thereof not embraced in the main
housing
building.
t..':~
iMainBuilding Areas:
In the
ideal
arrangement,
the principal floor areas will
be requireu for the lobby, the genxeral waiting
·-4f:.i
oom or
r'OCIA9S , i
either
tlJ
s; .~r
P;.......
CO iOuree,
-st t; o bing
thie
in sei-arate areas or a colimon1area ;ccord[in to
circumst-lcese, tie= combinedflii ction being ene.il.ly
d. esirable whilere..racticabl.
n aple
Corridor shjoald
roomls ad asse-cger
lead fromir the loby to
concourse.
.iewiting
TiLesep rmen's
rate
ald women' retiring
shoul i..
referable
irivately
olen uon
sich cor.ridor
wit the ir re pective tole ts
All of the es-en-tii
rooms
ad be con.uected
nd. Lv toriles
nunctio!is of the main bilding
be served on a common floor level,
common as t' be coimec
or levels
ea by moeLe
shoul&
so nrly
ra..p-, znd so related
if j.ossible to te station 4ir.:ck
level thatno stairw;ars
silail be reur~d
to re c the station latform level in
szub e. stations or to re-wch the thorofares over
or und.er
the tracks,
s the case miaybe, in through stations.
The lobby should
ande:its,
ront uLon the
rinci
and i, solely o together
al ublic entranlces
ith the corridor,
shoulcLbe te businests area of te station.
st tion
facilities,
Theprincipal
such as inf rm.:tioir booths,
t ic et
office, baggagechec. couituer, r..cel chech roo, etc.,
should be located in roper seue ce io-;g the line o'
travel
ad. ce
-; iniic. ted to avoid co-i~sion
the w-lking dist:nce of
Jin
ade
te
.rovided..
Thle ;ezer1l
fro
.n. red.uce
,ssengrs to . miniiu.m
ald.coisr icuous bulletin board sh uld be
;.iting
the :~ss
.
room, if only one is ,rovided
coJcira,
may
;;ell
be r.ce.
side o te line of tr.ve
bit
s co vnint
sep.r,tely
Lt
one
s :raucticble
45
to the passenger concourse
If the fuction of the general waitim room is to be
served, in commonu-ith -tht of the passengr concourse,
rovision must be made for all the reciuirenits
room, ith seating facilities
of a waiting
so situated. as not to intrude
upon the maximumareas required
for
assage of persons to
a1a from the train gates or for those assembling thereat.
ii/.
Concourse:
Unless its function is combine withi that of a waitin
room, a separate passenger concourse is essential in a
large station.
Such a concourse is used effectively in
many stations as a passagew-y which
passenigors to reach the street
ermits arriving
or departing
ipassengers to
enter from the street v ithout passing through the lobby.
It shoul
b
possible,
case of a suburban
directly
to ani
an.
is exceeoin
service,
avantageous
fro between
for passengers
the pssenger
in the
to proceeu
concouse
anu
the street without passing ithrough wvaiting room or blocking
its exits.
The elimination of conflicting lines of travel is very
desirable and shoula receive careful study in the design
~i ~:~
of the station,
particularly
of inbound from outboun
s regards
the segregation
±assc-ngers, and of commuters
from
through passenge rs.
Th; re¢cuireaclear width of pssenger concourse ejpends
uion tho
charact;r and amount
of its entra ces and.exits.
.S: .. 4 .~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
of traffic a
the number
The concourse should be large
enolughto i.ermit the gatiering
of a full traiI
a gatc ¥vithout a bloc.itaae, bt
sould
oad at
be so arrangea that
iti w;ill 1ot be a coa-veri neo-e
-rho
-oroVre:
for
are
not pa;ssengers.
traini concourse is advantageous, as it ermits serving
of oe sttior
_ _ltform by several gates, or conversely,
hieesrvi-g
A lear
if
it
of
eveial
latforms fromi oiri- train
0Ofeet for a trair
iath of
is not used
gatre.
concourse is aaeauate
xterisively for trucking.
icket Offices:
Ticcet
ofices
should be located
of travel, so arrangectthat
tic:ets ..ill not iterfere
irin-ow
openings
for th- sle
ihere
directly
of local
aujacenit to the direct line
assergers waiting to secure
with the general flow of traffic.
o
to the
ickets are
a large nurmiber of commutation
d.urin
the
boovhs
located
lst
tw-o or three
in the
asseniger concourse
esirable.
tick-ets are issuec.
araysof the month, portable
assen.ger concourse
may be desirable.
Parcel Check:
Th- parcel check rooms shoul
both inbouna and outbound
be easily accessible for
assengers, and shoula have
facilities for handling parcels quickly.
of business
justifies,
for receiving ana
sejarate
deliveri-
counters
iih-re
the amount
should be
rovideuL
parcels.
Toilets:
The practice of ins allig
7ay
toilets is increasing.
Tney
are favorably consioered where installed, sand are the
A
source
be
o0- a
How;-,vr, te--'3
ub-lani;aW raie, a.
l acLdeqaa-v Iu~.lber
of ree
1.9iould.
ashiLJx fail-
toiits nid
w
ities.
!!~
Concessios:
Cocessiois oi Zroyr chL.-acter
have rovel rofitable
most stZ"ions and are iesirabie,
r oducingZ stLndzoint,
but as
not
only
Z>cilit;
in
roi. a revenue
1-.ich
'
th
adds to
coifort and convwniilce of the passener.
The number
ii
anid clharacter oL tiiee concessions
greatly expnded
in
c-i
be
ermin-ls located in cities o
large
size,j-iti bnefitad profit to ll coilcereda..
Concessions,
to be successful,
be consicuous
alideasy o
must be so located
access.
They :mustb
as to
n,?-at
and
attractive in po ...
rlCe aiadwelllihLtei,
andconcession-
aires sould be exerienced, reslponsible d rogressive.
Booths opening airectiy on to t e corridor, where service
is raiid, aeaLl -ore to tj.-eeouttIu
t , - hile stores aieal
to
the throagh traveler and iartcularly
passengr
who has
to thlatr_.sf: r
time to sp-re.
Taxicbs:
The extent o cab facilities
city,cha.rctar
of cab service,
e eiids on the size of tie
a i ot-er means of local
trans-zortation. In cities vi.re good taxicLb service is
provided[ at a r e lsor
age of >ssengers
e r>t-e, an ever-incre.sing ercent-
is usin, tiiat s
reaching and leaving th
station.
vice as a meins of
Station Platforms:
In
laning
a
assenger terminal layout, it is of first
and exceeding importance to devise such relations between the track aragement
and the station
roper as
will conform to that station platform arranement
at reasonable cost
which,
will insure the maximum convenience,
expedition and economy in rendering all the platform
services.
Particularly at heavy duty stations, it is extremely
desirable tat
bggage,
mail and ex.ress trucks shall
not ordinarily have to traverse or occupy platform space
being used for the accommodation of passengers, with the
exception of baggage normally handled by porters and red
caps
Determination
of the type of platform
best suited
to a
particular situation is dependent uon
the character.and
volume o
handled, the type
the various kinds of trffic
of station (stub, through or loop) the location and type
of aproaches
to the
latforms
for the various
kinds of
traffic, the relation of the various approaches to each
other, the relative lenths of platformis and tr-ins,
s-aceavailable for station track and.,latform development,
and the method oi oeration.
For heavy duty stations, the ideal arrangements are:
1.
For a through station, with track lvel
below or above
the station floor level (refer'ably the latter); co.bined
i;lattforms should b installed;
passengers to reach or leave
49
The platforms
via escalators,
ralmipsor stairvWays
t the
middle thereof; trucks to reach or leave the platform
by elevators
or raips,at or near the outer ends thereof,
connecting
with
subway runways
and.assembly areas; pro-
vided that the Platforms are of sufficient length to eliminatethenecessity
of sotting passenger carrying cars at
the end zone oi'the platforms
for trucking.
when that
If platforms cnnot
zone is being used
be built to such length
or if two trains ar_ regularly berthed on the same track
simultaneously, interference between trucking and pass-
engers will result, and installation
and passenger
2.
of separate trucking
latforms may be justified.
In all cases where truck elevators
or ramps are pro-
vidaed,truck
runways
at grade across all tracks should also
be provided to meet emergency demands. In the case of
combined platforms on
hich'the loading and unloading of
baggage, mail :~ndexpress is couiined to the end sections
thereof, and tracking through the areas devoted to the
loading and unloading
of. passengers is not permitted,
platformwidthsmay b
the same as for exclusive
passenger
pli:tf
orms.
Combinedpassenger and trucking platforms at heavy duty
stations should b at least O feet in width, assuming a
row of columns located in the center of the platform.
In terminal stations, or in stations where a large number
of passengers must be handled uickly, the desirable height
of latforms used by the ,assongers is that of the car
50
£loor,as the hazard 'and inconvenience resultin
from the
use of car steps are eliminated, and the handling of
passengers is epediteC.
to some extent
with
the
However, high platforms interfere
switching
for ixnslectionof equip-
ment.
In large metropolitan areas, the character and volume
arriving mail may Justify its handlin
of
by belt conveyors.
While belts are adaptable to either combined or sarate
platforms, their use in connection
is particularly
advantageous,
ith combined platforms
as one belt betweetn ad-
joining tracks can very satisfactorily be used to serve
those tracks, while mail not adapted to handlin
the
bel
cn
on
be unloaded on to trucks on the platfornm
while other mail is being thrown onto the belt.
Elevators
and Moving Stairwvays:
Baggage elevators are desirable at both ends of combined
passeiger ad
trucki~n#-latforms in large passenger
stations where trains operate in both directions through
the station, to reduce interference btween
oerations
trucking
and passengers.
For heights less than
5 feet under normal conditions,
passenger elevators are not recomma-idedas apiroaches
to individual
assenger latforms.
as a sup. lement to stairs
Theymaybe dsirable
for the uses of the ages and
infirm.
tassenger Ram.s:
Ram-s furnisa
ideal means of handling pasezigers
as an
51
a~i-roach to
ed as
assenier
latfouIms if
ot to increase materially
by passengers,
hey can be so install-
te
and do not materially
disance traveled
decreae the sace
of the station platform available for thn accommodation
Good results can be accomplished in many
of trains.
cases by tho
se of both stairs and ramps in the approach
to the platform.
The gradient for passenger ramps
referably should not
exceed 10 percent.
Trucking Ramps:
Ramps are a very desirable means of providing vertical
transportation for trucking operations, if the design of
the
station is such as to permit their installation with
a minimum sacrifice in space.
A gradient of 7 percent is
the steepest yet used to any extent for tracking ramps.
This gradient should not be exceeded, t;
it is
oss-
2
ible that trucking ramsn may be operated successfully with
with maximum gradients of 8 percent.
_
The minimum clear width which should be considered for
trcking
ramps designed to accommodate one line of traffic
is 6 feet, and for two lines of traffic is 10 feet.
TERINAL
OFFICE BUILDING
Recent years have seen the revival of the old practice
of providing office sace
the various
at the terminal station, for
offices a railttiy companies.
;n the past,
however, too little attention has been given this pro-
blem, and little
thought toward expansion.
s a result,
railway companies have had to procure l_.r&gofloor areas
5i-
in other buildings often remote from te
oi erations and at high rental rates.
ment is to-provide ade%.uatesace
scene of their
The ideal arrange-
for present demands
plus a reasonable area for expansion.
This
resent
surplus area readily becomes rentable office space and
a further means of adding to the terminal income.
If
the station
builling is surmounted by an office build-
ing, the entrances to the latter should be independent
of the station so tat
office employees will not be re-
quired to pass through the station.
however, should be given to the
facilities to te
Cosideration,
esign of certain station
ossible patronage by occupants of the
office building.
EM2LOYEES PRKING
It is desirable
to provide
.employees automobiles.
of the usual public
sace
for the
This sace
arking
of
should be independent
arking areas, so as to avail
emrloyees of i-rivateparking
rivileges.
This fcility
may often be located below the griade of the station
proper, in sace
normally vacant or undeveloped.
Such
space should, if possible, have direct access to, wit..out
crossing .vehicular
circulation, the station, office
building and necessary apertinences.
PUBLIC PARLMIIGSiCE
One of the great failures of railroad terminals existing
today, is te
lack of parking sace
for iprivate cars.
53
-ri~~ iM-
r-elativ-s otein. have to .z'avL
blocks
tveral
to a station
froia .arkici
bleid can be combiled.
s,:-ce.
it- civic
Solutioi
o
iroosals
this
i>ro-
of the same
utu>l beefit o everyone. It should.,
however, be in the iimei iat ,.roximity of the station,
with direct access to a-d.
from the parling
to the rivate
nature,
to the
car loadinsgarl.:uas
of the station.
preferable not hve
to cross traf&Iic flow o' any kind.
Direct edastrian access rom
Ii
Such access should
to station
arkini lot
is
des irab
i .
R1ILAY iPES
CGoiizNY
The Railwiay Ex-ress Coampany
does not reu.uire much sace
the terminal station pro-er.
The rincial
in
function is
the handling of ex-ress, most of which is brought to
tihe express terminal in Railway Express Com
iany trucks,
and shich is shipied. in special train or cars containing
nothinS but exir;ss.
Thosetrai.s
or crs
are usually
loadedon siings separatefrom the functions
road termLi:al. They are then either
of express,
or if individual,
rDreparing to
on eclusive
is ease of
This
does
not
problems.
e
th
switching
detached.
fror
ispatch as a load
are switched onto a train
Inove. This entire oeration
ly at
ress terminal.
and proximity
menul that
to
cal be carried
The only re _uisite
aeparting trains.
t;he express terminal can be wholly
the terminal
however. There
First, there should.be
should be as close to
of the rail-
ublic
re two
ublic access, which
access to the terminal
as
·.^,
1:
-- ""INIMENEW-,
I-
"
, sibi.
secod., tere
of e-.ress
-vh.ch can be lo
s te
bgoa;¢ge cars. For this ltez
and loAdin,
jassaewray
robleo smll lots
o&d.
in unoccu ied saces
re.son,
in
both unloading
it is ~i.ces-ary tilat
there be a direct
f£o;
te
exziress comaUny to t
loa-unload
areas.Tha sme rules a,,ly to this traffic
as do to
b-ggage. It slcul' not cross anrny
publicor ve±icular
traffic.
Th sol o exce tion to tis
-thit might be
it
mz-yminrjle with bagguge operations
¥,ithout colnfict,
since fulictioni al& estination are virtually
-0ST
the samine.
OFFICETi.L..ALL
The hd.lin
of the mail is icLed.
at railroad& terL.iials.
a difficult roblem
DuXe
to the necessity of speed,
safety,
economy and care in hi&llirng, the U.S. smail
reRu.iresseccial coTsiaeraton. The tail : ,roble is
soaew.hatsiilar
to the express robleui in the fact
that mail is loaded u.d unloaled from s ecial trains
as ;aell as from cars attachled to regul"r assenger runs.
Mail tins
should be handLed directly
t the
ost
2
office terminal however must be readily accessible from
switching
eas,
which
the
areas.
t.,-o
t
are
a
complexity
It too, as in the case of the railway
h-dle
art
mail directly to and froim cars
of re-uiar passenger trains.
of types of mail, which in turn re uire
varying amounts of consideration and. different
the
ost
Due to
handling,
office requires special routes and devices to
expedite service. Pos-t,-lAuthorities insist, if it is
feasible, that separate runwrays, tunnels or access be
55
rovided
or the mail.
This mandatory for several reasons.
The mail needs protection from theft.
pekc
Rush loads and
congestionLusually occur si-iultaneouslyvith those
of baggage and exIlress. The elirmationof any handling
oeration
thereby reduces the chance of daiage, loss
or teft,
and seeds
operations as well as increases
ec onomly.
t-LJCOCZTER
FIELD
Ini view of present day use of the helicopter
';'~:::!
-!-
of handling
as a taxi to
mail,
it would b
aid from
as a means
twise to consider
airiorts.
its use
Since a very limited
space can be acceptable for a lancLirgfiel~, it may
usualiy be
rovided for with very little additional
plann ing or cost.
.
.;::
~,;?b
!i: :
?,
tj0
TE
SITE
TI
SITE
The design of a iassenger termin-l should lrrovide for
anticipated demands during at least te
first
of its life, and. rovision should be mde
O0 years
for such
subsequent exansion as ay be reasonable under the circumstances. The designer must realize that a large
passenger termin.al is subject to vicissitudes of weather,
to delays and derailments to trains, to lat- coxlLections,
to
ower failures, to surges in traffic, to bad-order
etqimnent, to secial
trains or cars requiring secial
hadliniL, to excrsion
tions and secial
site
travel, and to jubilees, conven-
fuictions
for the terminal
at irregulareriods. The
should have a balanced maximum
composei of the following characteristics:
1. accessibility--having
due regard
to modern methods of
transportation, land values, and economic requirements.
2.
Sufficient
proper
nurber
size
and suitable shape to
and length
rovide for a
of tracks, and to
rovid.efor
future growth of both.
3.
ase of approach from all the associated ril
liiies,
without excessive curature or gradient, and.vvithout
grade
crossinges.
4. i-ossibilitiesof roper highway aroach,
without
ecessive
develo-inent
co.st.
5. Proper relation, present and
rospective, to rid
transit and surface car lines, etc.
6. Room for proler by-pass tracks and for the sread
of
5.7
I -adldertracks,
Lor
frovide
free
to
I.oVefielt anld to . rev-ent
a tio-u- of th- yard fro:. derailameit t
7. Roomfor au=iliary fclities
such as:
a. Baygags, mail
the throat.
co;vreiiiently located,
nd. exiress.
b. Parhin s ace or _ullaanx
sleepers ai- lrivate cars.
c. Locomotive teriL-al
d. Coach yard.
(iAerican RilwayZnginer
ssociationLtLanial 194 )
The -iresent terminal stations
are
erhaps not as conven-
iently located with respect to hotels, residential areas
anai thecity center
they
s they might be.
Des-ite this fact,
r- no-, too re.Lote from these areas as to render
them udesirable.
In view oL!the aforel enioned desirable
characteristics, I believe the eisting loc.tion is
-,erhapsthe best ossible in the resent city econoim--y.
ImJortant consideration should be given to eistiiig
rights o
way,
The fact
h t the Greit
the north
-terTinat
room for expansion and land ownershi,.
sites,
orther]n
s 1;t a
isti-gisites is further
site
yrrds,
tuniel
under the City
oint two blocks north of the
indiction
tl.iat
the
solul b usd. if lossib)l.The inivid.tLal
Union
from
resent
terminal
atxtion
aid
in, Street St:~tion are hardly
sufficient individally
to accommllodate
an adequate func-
tional station.
owever, by -use of both sites ,lusthe
area now occu-ied by the post office terminal, sfficient
sLace for a long raige
of course, iivolves
legal
rogra
cn b attained..
roble.s
o
This,
land o.nershi_
and.
F; UJi
'
-
-nnf
--l+Ay4
;1. fV1
I
.
TLLisobject
mutual
-1
.,-I&r
-.
"+L
^
.
.-
nJ-L(
-
need not b unsuraountable
&vantage is
aintzin ed.
i the balaic
£ieFederal
now,leases ti'e site on ;-v.ichte t-rnnl .located,
of
GovezsM:n.;it
st oi c e is
from the Great i-ortL-ern Eailro:d. Compjany.
Surrender 0o. this are
to its owrl:rs for trmi-ilal e,ansion
reuires te reloc tioz oZ Post office fitcilite. * This
may'
be as iy hndle d in the new area, o the benefit
of all zarti.s
willingness
plajnin-.
.
The Federal Governient
as indicated
to com.ly -vitL: CityOfficials
in any civic
In view of the fact t..at te
Fedeeral Govrn-
meilt u'anl to build a new ost office terminal in the
next five years or so, it seems logical that the entire
frogram
sioaulcbe considered
at one tiLme.
The site to be used is that
on the North,
rea bounded by Jackson Street
econd Avenue on the 'es,
FiftL:. &venue
on theEsast
ad the existing railroad yrds
on the Soutih.
This site includes Fourth
and its traffic ,oblem.
ad. Airport 'ay
Avenue
South
In my solution,
Fourth
venue
South becomes an elevated roaday over tis
area
to the
benefit not only oE the
·
the city traffic
railroad termintl
bat
al1-o to
i-attern.
I 9O
·-.
.;
.P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~T-
.
g
-.- ..
b..
.'
is
=,
>
DO~~~
The Program:
Despite the excellent cooperation received.from city
officials
and railw.y company eo-le, I was unable
to get complete facts and figures on total rail movements
in -ad. out of the city.
However,
the comparison
of companies together with data received enabled
me to arrive at a reasonable estimate of present volume.
This, coupled with research information based on
studies of cities of comparable size and.problems,
resulted in the establishment of a
feel will adequately fulfill te
rogram which I
needs for the coming
20 years.
Sufficient thought has been given to an
expanding
rogram,
and ample provision for such has
been made.
A Railroad Terminal for Seattle,
Due to the inadequacy
facilities, it
and obsolescence
of existing
is proposed to erect new facilities
for a unified. cooperative rilroad
site comrises
ashington
terminal.
The
land owned by the railway comianies
involved and includes the area bounded by Jackson St.
on the north, Second Avenue on the west and Fifth Ave.
on the DEst.
The principal
1.
roblems
are as follows:
Creation of joint-facilities for all railway
companies.
2.
Study of terminal problem and its solution with
rj
0
res
ect
to city
n. existing pro osals for alter-
l1n
ations of same.
3.
Eliminiation of factors which are te
resent fcilities
reasons for failure of
pjrincial
to function
successfully, economically and easily.
4.
Creation of a railroad terminialwhich will be modern,
functional, attractive and which will meet all
ated future
day demandsand antici
resent
reqiuirements for
at least 20 years.
5.
problem and its solution
Study of terminal
with
respect to other businesses, i. e. Post Office, Railway
Express
ompany, etc.
The following requiremeats are listed as minimum, In
some cases, areas are more generous than required to
allow more freedom of oeration
and ease of expansion.
Specific Requirements and Provisions:
A. Railroads
and Track System
Union Terminal of all oerating comanies.
Type of station - - Stub (with Through-Type arrangement)
Numberof loading tracks
'Number of passenger
latforms
Average length of train
10 cars and.locomotive
Track expansion
jossibilities
10
5
900 ft.
6-8
A..'
1
B.
tation
?roper
?'
1.
iassenger facilities
:i
Area for witinlg "rd. concourse
Seatin
~0,000
sqC.
ft.
350
c~'acity
i.
1R
Area of hand baggage
(rece iving )
I
,i
"f
B
I
f
ii
bggae
Area of hd
( d live ry)
;i
;;i
irea of 2arcel check room
Ilformation and Traveler's aid
-
Area of ticket offices
, 000 su.
ft.
2,000 si.ft.
a
1,000
150
it
it
1,500
-·,·i
"I
ilumberof Ticket windows
· ··
8-10
i
ft.
;Q_
I
1,000
Travel Bureau
i:
, 50C
Restauranut
:·-i·
I
Z.I·
r-
Kitchen
2,20C
Snack Bar
l,00C
Men's Lounge and.Restroom
1,20C
iSi
I
W-.
:: :
a;
Barber Shol - 4 chairs
Vomen's Lounge and. Restroom
2.
"
1,20C ) sq.
ft.
Station facilities
-.,
P;
i:
Porter Service - Lockers, loun-e
1,00
restroom aild shovers
_
Sq.
.I
Disi.tchers room - office sace
±usse
ner
Is..
,
';
- office s ace
aster and Oices
Station
i
Lgei;t
dml1oyees
rooms,
lock-ers
Baggage sortiiig, storage
Biggage
tailboc.r& s ce
Coiinductor'svisa
ft.
1,50(C
1,5LC)
It
1,50()
It
1,0C0
I,
a1
10,00(
14(I)
j
itIf
If
s5;.
II
ft.
`r
:3
·i
,a.iJmz't
e dchaiaLcaL
Heatig, etc.
v
t
Inter ockinz: Rel-.
·-a
ioom
Yard Control
·r-i
L,0(0 s,.
t.
"
"
2,000
n
-1·
T rminal
r;t-:
·;"
·:h
ic
6
.:d
i.,
1
a
i.;
;··
C.
r;
n-
0 orti-g
Com ny
Yard Control
Buildlin Miintonc e
"
1,50
, 0o0
Ca retaker
1,00
Terminal
Oice
10,000 s . ft.
(Union Depot CorLoratbion)
:L
'
Build ing
erTniinal o-;rintJl 6 Com!n ly
is
:i"
"
"
---;·
,· "I·:,
.f·i
·;
1'
··-
:·
6,00O "
Union ziacificR.ilvy- Co. (1 floor)
6,000
#
"
(1 floor)
6,Ou0
"
"
Northiern acific Co.
·
3sn
Greit i ort.:ern RailvwzyCo.(i floor)
Chi. klilw. t.Paul
Pac. (1 floor)
··
-·-
Oregon & Wash. R.R & Nav.
-r--.
,· -*;
"
Railroad
Paciiic
'·i
Y
and Dining
Ceoteria
6,u00
n
3,000
n
100
"
({ floor)
Kitchen and Service
:W
:i
I.:
O
Rentable Office space
r:,
D.
r
:·
;?
Terminal Parking (Emiloyees)
Number of cars
E.
Platform
r'
r
j
k
i;.
P
i
-,
-·
a
a
r .
I:
.'i
·
U. S. Mail
Necessary
P-
II1
:1
(3 Floors) 2,000 sq. ft.
Total Area
a
a
d
iii
?
F.
tunnel connections, sorting areas and
space.
Railway Express Comany
Necessary tunnel connections, sorting areas and
platform space.
Receiving area LatterIinal station
1,000 sqo.ft.
,/~
ar
Fl-
Storage Bsace
Tailboard length
G.
1,000 sq. ~ .
50
It
i
Conces sions
/j
:
;.
,a
i
5
r
:·
:5
'j
·Y
r:
-i
A
-..
;J
i:
i
··
Y
p
·i
-;
.1·
i
ii
64
, -
!i
i
:11il '
r.
~
The problem of modernization
facilities
for Seattle
since the tiite
inadequacies
point
o
railaay
is one which
terminal
as interested
me
w;hen I first became conscious of its
and obsolescence,
of view.
from the
I chose it as a Thesis
rchitactirzal
subject for
several reasons.
1.
Its solution involves many
L
ural design
and its
hases of architect-
sroblems are sufficient
and complex enough to tax the ingenuity and ability
of any architect.
2.
It perhaps more than any other civic project is
in need of rehabilitation
and moLodrnization due to
its immedediate association with persons entering or
leaving the city.
3.
Proper solution of this ?roject will have a great
impact on the economy of the city and will involve
problems of civic development which are at present
of major concern to te
It is iossible
rogress of the city.
for one person to adequately invest-
i-ate and to attemt
to solve all of the ~roblems
encountered in the creation of a railroad terminal.
~iXi
~
~
The best
of
jrocedure vould be to have a joint committee
all parties concerned, architects, engineers,
railroad. officials,
city Ijlanning groui sand others,
to completely formulate all
.ossibleiroblems.
turn, this group would bring forth all
i?
undesirable
In
esirable and
traits, would be capsable of advising
for or
against each decision, and would ensure com lete and
.
,!
exhaustive research into all problems.
I have attempted to ;resent a
an architect's viewpoint.
parts of te
ossibl
It is
solution, from
ossible that certain
scheme are not feasible, due to factors
beyond the scope of my research.
I am, however,
reasonably certain that the major and important functions as planned in the scheme, will operate
successfully.
5,:,
-.
,
~~~~,;t,
~ ~~~~~
~
~
~
~
~
~I6
The Solution:
1. Joint facilities.
The problems involved in the creation of a Union Terminal are maiy.
like
companies,
Railroad companies, as do other
andcgenerally
to oerate individually,
are unwilling to share with a competing compbny.
Considering the number of Union Terminals in this
country however, that iroblem
ales into insignifi-
canse. The American Railway Engineers Association
EManural lists sample legal documents for the creation
of joint terminal facilities.
In the Seattle case,
equitable agreements would have to be reached on
problems of land ownership and use, terminal sace,
V scheme
track assignments and operating rocedure.
A.tyi
If
involves pooling of land, rights of way and facilities
of the various
companies,
to allow for a reasonable
solution of benefit to all.
of the terminal
Operation
vould be assumed by a terminal
Operating Companywhich would become a Depot Corporation.
Its function would be to control all oerations
terminal.This includes
the
yard
rail
at the
movements in anci out of
as well as functions of the,building itself.
This Corporation would maintain its own switching
locomotivs
and h-ndle all such activites within its
limits'.
2.
The Site,
The site has been discussed in a previous section of
.'!.'~
I·V
I
To enumerate
this report.
There woul&.be a cooling. of the site
occupied by the
King Street Station with theftoccupied by the Union
Depot.
The land nowv occupied for a Terminal Post
Office Building is considered in this area.
Provision
is made for a Postal Terminal elsewhere on the site.
Suitable
arrangements will be madteto insure e uitable
return of income to the companies, on the basis of
area used jointly and present ad future taxable values
of land now used individually.
3.
The
a.
Traffic
Problem.
rincipal traffic
roblems are:
The existence of Fourth
venue South as a major
artery bisecting the site.
b,
Jackson Street or Second Avenue becomes the most
desirable access streets to the site because of
minimum traffic.
My solution recommends that Fourth Avenue South become an elevated route, beinnming at Airport iay and
continuing at the elevated height until it reaches te
normal street grade in the vicinity of
ashington St..
Fourth Avenue South at present begins to ramp up at
400 feet before its intersection with Airport 'Hayfrom
approximtely
at Airport
traclzlevel, to
ay.
0 feet above
tat
level
It continues at 20 feet above track
level to Jackson Street, then begins to rise again as
it proceeds utown
past
ain and washington Streets.
68
}y solwutiton
lroios-s
to
rami ul. for
400
that Fourth
-feet
when
venue sou-h continue
it reuches
ir ort ..
iay,
to an elevation of ,IOet abovetraci level.
It
Wiouldcontinue at this elevation until it reac'ed tlhe
normal street grade at a . oini near iashinigton Strret.
This would have the iollo- ig effect:
1. It liould. alloi tlrotgli traf.ic 6n ifourth ve. So.
to trave se th.e cogests ed t erninail are--, a an overhead £freei-ay
.ith 11o grade crossizngs.
a syste
o uu
ider-ses
would eable
tisfer
t .,irjort
i hich allowed no cross traffic,
o veiicles
rom AirL-ort Way
to Fourthl eavenue outh nd vice versa;
2. Jac son Street would be a through street
would enable access to and from the terminal
.:i* i! '
underneath
of contgestion at Fourth avenue South.
,?
>relieved
Vay,
M
This
to move
with a minimumo congestion.
3,. It enables te
sites,
under te
In addition
oolirn
o
to
existing terminal
Fourth .4venue
Southraodwa.
to this, SecoiidAvenue (from Wasington
Street to Jackson Street,) is eliminated, as is
Washington Street (from Occident;l to Fourti), aen3d
Mlain Street (from Second to Fourth).
liination
of
these streets follows recommenLLations of the City
Planiling Commissiozl a-z izralafii c Engineur,
or re-
habilitation of slums in that area andcreation
of a
green belt or parkas
ea nes o civic beautification.
These park ar azs coula serve a
sites for under rouad
purbrkingarzeas to srve vehicles of ersonshving
business at the terminal or in the ro ose d adjacent
Public Buildings Area.
A general widenin
o the streets
in tho vicinity
(as far as possible) is aff'ected,
an1 dividing stris
placed as a means of
4.
irecti'-
a
_d
eparating traffic.
The Station:
a.
Tracks enter ti-e
station from the existin
rights-of-way
anL main lines.
In the case of Union
Pacific and .ailvuk-ee trains,
and use the same rights
they .:vouldhave to enter
of way as due Great
and Northern Pacific trains
.
t
resent.
orthern
Access to coach
yardsof the former would have to be made unless coach
facilities
could be arranged
in the same areas as are
the Great Northern and orthern eacif ic.
;, !:.
the increased traf.Lic
.nd greater
To handle
volume of movement
at the terminal, suitable moderninterlo¢oling relay
signalling equiment would be necessary.
The yard develops into 10 loading and unloading
tracks.
Four of these tracks are terminating stubs, six of
them offer means of taking locomotive power from
the head. and byjiassing it to the outgoing
side of the
yard. The two tracks from the tunnel remain as main
line trac:~swith one used as a byass spur when necessury.
Tracks at station
latforms are in pairs.
Between
each pair is a platform on which all pas:enger, mail
express and bggage
is andled.
Passengers, however,
use essertially the cetter portions of the platforms,
'70
1̀
" mr
while mail, express a L
abag
ra confined, to te
..
,
extreait iLs
b.
j-
Private cars eter
from a
oint on Jackson St.
near Second. ivernue. They leave the rea, entering
Jackson Street
There
at a
re two levels,
ouS;in,
oint 25o fees from Second Avenue.
one for
uloading,
one faoo
In the access loop is parking space for
·?
aiJiroximately
·*·z
60 autos.
There is no cross circulation
whats oeve r.
Taxiebs
enter opiosite the building from
private
cars.
They enter and leave from Second Avenue, which is
1
·:
I
elevated to station level.
As in the case of Private
cars, they have two levels,
unloading.
one for loading and one for
In the access loop is sace for taxi
waiting areas.
c.
-B
l·i.
c. Pedestrians
arrive at the Jackson Street
entranceeither on foot or from transit
coaches.
Transit passengers arrive on three routes.
i'
9
One is
the crosstown route on Jackson Street; one is the
north-south route via Fourth South overhead.
This
latter has unloading zones at the point where it
· i!r
crosses Jackson Street.
The third is the transit coach
which terminates at the station.
.. ..··.·.
r
d. Trucks anddelivery
vehicles aproach the lower
·--.
2
:J,
,··
service floors
-·s
the station level.
P
-.
by way of King Street
which is below
·Arriving by foot., auto or taxicab, the passenger
a
.*i·
.,
'
encolnters
e ansd :rcel
ictiets, baggickets
in:ormation
receiving zoomsand.waiting room, in that order. Conveniently located are all necessary concessions, news,
traveler's aid, travel bureau, restaurant, snack bar,
From the waiting
rest rooms.
telegraph, telephone a
room he can see all track approaches and may sit in
the immediate
vicinity. of the ramp to the platform
from which his train leaves.
Arriving by train, the passenger enters the concourse
from the ramps or stairs, and may proceed directly to
the baggage delivery room and to awaiting auto, taxicab,
or bus without interfering with other passengers.
He has the o tion of using
all station facilities
if
he so chooses.
f.
There are to
hand baggage rooms.
One on
the top level for receiving, one at tie lower for
delivery. Belowthese, at trac. level, is the sorting
and storage area. Baggagetravels below tracks, in
tunnels to the various platforms where it is elevated
to awaiting cars.
Both ramps anCLelevators
to
are
rovided. when possible
Truck access
allow expeditious handling of baggage.
is provided at the lower track level.
g.
Mail is hande&
via sparate
tunnels under
tracks, to the Postal Terminal building.
The post
office terminal is located with good access to the
terminaland sufficient room for the hndling
of indi-
7.
at the port office terminal.
viclual mail trains
h.
Express tunnels are provided, which join with
baggage tnnels.
The ex-ress tunnel provides access
Provision
from the express tercminal to the station.
is made at the terminal for public access by car or
truckc to an express aea
j.
Offices
at
the terminal.
re provided in an office b-uilding
loc;Lted independently of, but with direct access to
the station.
This building houses the Terminal Oper-
ating Corporation, offices of the various railroad
companies
nd rentable space for other tenants.
It is
oriented for north light and. the most pleasant outlook.
my personal ap-roach to
The design itself represets
the problem with respect to character, sacial
rela-
tionship to parts and function.
Contrary
to past practices
in the design
I have endeavored
terminals,
more informal structure.
of Railway
to mna-kethe building
I do not believe that
monumentality or formality is the reuisite
design.
a
of good.
I believe the situation should present an
attractive appearance from the exterior, be clean, well
tely
lighted, easy and direct in operation and coiiLle
funct ional.
I have attem.ted
possible.
to eliminate
waste space as much as
Passengers are foremost in the consideration
of elements, and every consideration has been given
to theirconvenience and.pleasure.
located to
rovide
Waiting areas are
e-s-nt outlook and seedy
access
73
to trains .
11herever.. ossible,
to enhance areas tlit
lanting has been arranged
1normallyare ugly anddirty.
The building in its essential parts is informal ad
direct.
ed..
o useless'monument or to-werhas
been
erect-
The only vertical element is the office building
and it
is justly
so. The generalcaracter of the
station is derived froiiiits forms which 'are common
only to railroad terminals.
The
aterial.
used. are those common to the State in
which the statioil is located.
Wood is used where
oissible, to recall the great forestry industry.
However, wood requires great maintenance as an exterior material, so brick will be used as a facing in
most parts.
The basic skelelton is o steel with
caisson foundations.
Reinforced concrete is used
as the second main structural
medium.
74
|
g rm
-
-
.
>
Al
S
v L
t *S
:
:
E
r
t
-
S
7.
.
.'
i.YTL'
::
03R
L'il'>,;'L2
i OLY s WURCS
. u
.,
.
.
.
.
..;
.
.
..'.
.'
,
.
.4
c-
t.S-
,
i
.
,.
-5
=r c
r
s
AN fi
b
e
,
7
s
-0
S
F
.-' .
4
s7y
*.>-
.'
g
.,
g
, .
.
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or
;v
,'
.'
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g
'
.
3
Iiormation Sources:
ferry . Joh:.Lnson, irchitiot
Itaraoro, Bain, Brady, Johaisol
1190 Dexter orton Building
ashiL+-ton
Seattle,
J. .. Bollong, Traffic ngineer
f Secttle
City
County City Buildiii
Se
la;
shingtoi
ttl,
t
Henry R. Ber;t,, xecutive Secrctary
City f1lalxing Commissioni
503 CowIty City Buildiin
shingtoln
Seattle,
H.
L.
viestern
Burnham,
Northern
Seattle,
Traffic
L7aiager
aciiic Rilway Comariny
Vas'hing-ton
E. B. Crane,
rincip.al
Assistant
Engineer
Chicago, Iiilvraukee, St. i;aul aa PaciLic Railroad. Coi any
Seattle, ,~ahingtn
Resid.ent Egineer
Sam liurray,
Union
Seattle,
acific Railvay
vaslhington
H2.J. Shannon, General
Company
:gtent
Railway Express
gency
Fran~i LaFortune,
Foremian
Seattle , Washington
ost 0f£ice
Seattle,
Garage
ashington
lessrs. Sullivan, Lord, Flaherty,
TrafLic Research aid. Deveo-ment
- ew York, New Haven and Connecticut Railroad&
Boston,
Chas. a
assachusetts
Bonner,Siu,.erintenuent
Railway lail
ervice
Boston, Massachuse tts
.r. 1,1alone y
Railwivay Express
4blency
Boston, ivasschausetts.
X
','
76
F·
X
.,.'.
..
.-,.
. .
f.~
.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.I
'n"~If~i~~!·
.
ALY'
,·
.
.1
.·
:
-'
$
BIBIOGPA2HY
Sohmid., Calvin F. Social Trends in Seattle.
Seattle University of eWashingtonPress, 1944
Vol.14 336p.
Toledo Chamber of Commerce Transportation Re]port
Toledo,Ohio Parsons, Brinkerhoff, ogan and cDonald
1946 45.
Detroit City Plan Cornmissioi,Preliminary Re.1-ort
on
Railroad facilities. Detroit City Plan Commission 1943. 15p.
'RothF.J.
Union Depot for Milwaukee.
Master Thesis,
1945.
Bollong, J.W.A. Report on modernization of Union Depot
and Traffic Problems. Dept of City Engineer, 1945.
Searles and Ives, Field Engineer, New York. J.Wiley 1936 366p
Eastman, A. V. The Terminal Plan. Seattle University of
Washington Press 1938. Engineering Exeriment Station
Series,
Report
5.
5 7
1,.
Van Nere T.V. Trains, Tracks and.Travel NewYork,
Simmons, Boardman 1943. Sixth edition 414p.
Droege J.A. Passenger Terminals and.Train
McGraw, Hill 1916. First edition 410p.
New York,
American Railway Engineer Associate's Manual, Terminals
Chicago, American Railway Engineer ssociation
1946. Section 14
".
vc
77
Architectural Record:
Fellheimer and Wagzer.
74:227-36, Sept. 1933
Ciniucinettti union Terminal
J. Bergman. Dictating to the RailJays.
74:83-4, Se-t. 93o
C.H. Reilly. Railvay Station, Terminal and Otherwise
78:147-9, Oct. 1935
E.I.
illiams.
cKim,
Railroad Station Valley Stream, Long Island
, Mar. 1936
79:179-80
ead. and. ihite.
.: .479:199-05,
Mar.
arket Street Station,
ewark, NT.J
1936
0. Flodin and E. Sejala. Finland. Tr
s-Lort-tion Center
at Tampere.
83:63-6, Mar. 1938
T.L.
flueger. San Francisco Railway Terminal
86:30-2,
July 1939
D.B. Plarinmson. Railraod Station,
89:133-5, Jan. 1941
Los Lgeles
J.M. Richards. Domesticating the Iron Horse
9L:129-36, June 1942
S. Hall mand
Eaeston.
Station in Essex B.I.
92:81-3,
Oct. 1942
iL ~
Holabird nd Root.
96:54-9, Oct. 1944
Builington, Iowa
London, South Ealing Station Waiting Room
84:52-3,
Oct. 1938
Long Island.Railroad 'Station for New York
84:70-1, ov. 1938
orld Fair
Railroad Station, a neglected olportunity
94:85-108, Dec. 1943
,~ !~::
Pencil Points:
L. Tichy.
Railroad. Terminal
Sshos
23:201, April 1942
L. Tichy. Combined Station and Switch Tower
26:72-3, July 1945
78
Bibliogra
1hy Con't.
Los Lcngeles Celebrates
O0e i'
of NewrUnion
assenger
Terminal.Pe ncil o inLts
ZO:Sup 20 June 1939
Architect and Engineer:
B .L.Gilman. Santa Fe P-assenger Terminal
134:32, Aug. 1938
Los. Ange les Union
Depiot
115:567, Oct 1930
San Francisco-Oaklan& Bay Bridge Terminal
130:50-1, Sept. 1937
Building the Bay Bridge Railroad Terminal
133:43-6,
June 1938
Los Lm.gelesUnion Depot
137:37-41, ay 1939
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Railro-adTerminal
136:;5L-3£, Jan. 1939
...
Los ungeles PasseLger Terminal.
55 :8-9,
June 1939
Arts and. Architecture
-roblems for the Desiger--Rail¥vays.
35:146-51,
,]
:W-
Nov. 1943
Art and Industry
G. R. Smith, Old Euston Station, London, Royal Institue
-of British Architects
46:192, Dec. L1938.
Railway Stations ith Discussion. Royal Institute of
British Architects
46:64',645-60, May 8, 1939
Railway Age, Journal
1942, 1944, 1945
i
79
Sf:
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS OF
THE CITY OF SEATTLE
OFFICE
OF
CITY
ENGINEER
C. L. WARTELLE. CITY ENGINEER
IN RE,
Railroad
Seattle
Terminal for
-
May 2, 1946
Mr. Arnold G. Gangnes
19 Westgate
Cambridge 39, Mass.
Dear Mr. Gangnes:
contemplating a
I am very much interested in your proposed thjais
study for a railroad terminal for Seattle, something which is sorely
needed, I am sure.
The railroads have had vacated,(in the early days of approach to
the city from the south particularlya so much of the approach streets
from the south that there is now remaining only fourhighways from
the south where there should be eight or ten. These four are Airport
Way, 4th Avenue South, 1st Avenue South and E. Marginal Way (or Alaskan
Way.) There are some 58,000 cars using these four highways daily.
4th Avenue alone carries 32,000 in the vicinity of the depot, which
is a combination of 4th Avenue South, Airport Way and Dearborn Street
from the east. The traffic flow map enclosed shows pictorially the
approach of this traffic.
We now have the Public Roads Administration in conjunction with ti8L
department and the State Highway Department carrying on what is known
a iaHi0rigin & Destination Survey, the purpose of which is to find
the route or routes which might be used in place of those now actually
being used and to construct along said route or routes "limited ways"
Parkway
or what is popularly known as "freeways"--similar to Merritt
or Aroyo Seco in Los Angeles. The function of such freeways is to
carry traffic at fairly high speeds without any intersecting crosstraffic, pedestrian or vehicular. I am enclosing another print
showing studies of such freeways into and around the City of Seattle
and possible location of such freeways. However, none of these contemplate the abandonment of any of the four approach streets on
highways from the south.
I believe it would be a mistake to abandon 4th Avenue South which is
now U.S. 99. It might be interesting for you to peruse a study
which the writer made with regard to modernization of the stations
and their combining into somewhat as one whole. This entailed new
taxicab conourse,
construction, methods of approach to tras,
car parking, the moving of the terminal pos office, the
priva
South, clearance of a
constructon o a new hiAue
p
crof
the stations
and other changes.
A. G. Gangnes
-2-
May 2,' 1946
i
I am enclosing a copy of a letter which was written to presidents
of each of the railroad companies entering the city, setting out
the need for such modernization from a traffic standpoint, an
economical standpoint and an aesthetic standpoint.
All of this, of course, would run into considerable financing, but it
is something I believe the City of Seattle needs. The stations are
not only inadequate, but the area occupied by blighted buildings in
front of them from Yesler Way to Jackson Street needs rehabilitation.
What a wonderful impression it would be for those coming into Seattle
to have a modernized station facing on a plaza such as the writer
has outlinedi
I would call your attention to similar plazas and civic centers
which have been constructed or are being contemplated in St. Louis,
Los Angeles, Portland, St. Paul, Kansas City and others which you
no doubt have encountered in your travels.
If I can be of any further assistance to you in this respect, please
call on me. I would be glad to receive a copy of your proposed
thesis and plan lay-out for checking from a traffic standpoint.
JWAB-t
Eric. -7
i
CITY PLANNING
i-
COMMISSION
J. A. GIBBS
yoUNG. CHAIRMAN
ON J. WHEELON, VICE-CHAIRMAN
rEFi j. WYCKOFF
.R J. WYCKOFF
CITYOF SEATTLE
JOHN
SILL
B.
CAIN
SUPT. OF BUILDINGS
DUFFY
H. HANLEY
PRESIDENTOF PARK BOWAARD
C. CITY
L WARTELLE
ENGINEER
BLDG.
503 COUNTY-CITY
~~~~~H,~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HANLEY
~EXECUTIVE
SECRETARY
HENRY R. BERG
SEATTLE 4, WN.
April 17, 1946
.4
:
Mr. A. G. Gangnes
19 Westgate
Cambridge 39, Mass.
Dear Mr. Gangnes:
-
t
;
We are in receipt of your letter of April 1st, requesting
information and data for your proposed study for "A Railroad Terminal
for Seattle". Under separate cover, we sent you a copy of our report,
entitled "Report on Proposed Public Buildings Area for Seattle", which
is related to the subject you have chosen. I would suggest that you
give our report a thorough study as it is definitely related to the
railroad passenger terminals.
While we were working on the preparation of the above mentioned report, we contacted the four railroad companies, having depot
facilities at 4th Avenue South and Jackson Street, as to their plans
At that
for modernization of the King Street and the Union Depots.
time they replied that the pressure of war transportation had required
the full attention of the railroad company officials and therefore it
had been necessary to defer studies of this matter.
:
: H
Your particular attention is called to pages 16 and 17 of
our report, under the heading of "Auxiliary Areas to be Considered for
Future Improvement in Connection with the Approach to the Public Buildings Area."
Frankly, I believe you have chosen a subject on which it
probably will be difficult to get data. Considerable will depend on
the cooperation you receive from the railroad companies. I would suggest that you tackle them immediately for information and see what sort
of a reaction you get.
There are several limiting factors that must be taken into
consideration in endeavoring to solve this problem, some of which are
as follows:
(1) Since the Great Northern Railway passes under the Central
Business District in a tunnel which ends at 4th Avenue South and Washington Street, the location of depot facilities must be south of this
point.
(2)
(2) Fourth Avenue South is a part of the State Highway
System through the City, being U. S. 99, and the depot structures
must not infringe on this important arterial'street
(3) Foundation conditions in the vicinity of the present
depots are difficult since it is filled in tide-flat areas with a
high water plane and most any kind of a structure will require a
heavy pile foundation.
(4) Bus and air travel facilities are highly competitive
with rail passenger facilities, and there is considerable difference
in opinion on the amount of passenger business that will accrue to the
railroads in spite of their improved equipment.
(5) The competitive element between the various railroads
works against any sort of joint depot facilities.
Under the Bogue Plan, the railroad terminal was to be located
at the south end of Lake Union with tunnels under the city connecting
with the lines to the south. The Northern Pacific, Chicago Milwaukee,
and Union Pacific all enter the city from the south. The Great Northern
is the only line that enters from the north. It is our opinion that any
new depot facility would have to be located in the vicinity of the present depots.
Sorry that I do not have any more definite data that I can
send you but we have been so busy on other problems that we haven't had
a chance to go into this one in any detail.
Yours very truly,
Executive Secretary,
City Planning Commission
HRB: jm
C
June
Rot odeaition
Statis
1s 1945
f RalroadPassenr
In the City of' Seattle
Deer Six
T. WitSerSastraffic ?.of
the ity of Suette. bas uor.
bS
&O43nlyvisited te ites in the.Uted States sad Cmada raning from
50,000 to 1,000,000 in
keepI
ritep
Wpo.aUaafor the past. IS yarsa
th the prove
order tht
he migt
Bde in other eities ad apply the knowledp
graiedthreby to the eity of ea;ttt,.
oeily idetified .a-ith trafie .ett
t 's bee -the orn
itWerthat there has bee- a pAa
mod
u of the
tia of rairad
pa.1f_ _ t.o
tioiz tbrazout the Uated States. Varims tem. in this respect ae the
rted
: t ipr's
the esaMfar t.iraffi approah ad
t rau Staita ,
and the -tredtows the provsion of safe aceug sad exit t ad from the van
-= *aow an Titi
:assager..tris
are loaded and uladed,.
heed or tunnel passa s.
by emas of
CpsarIngrailroad passenger stations In Seattle with modera
ted sttions,
layl prTieawiy. eoutstading
(n .the wri4terea'i)
to ad fiom the railrad passgr
are at
1.
the
lTa cab,
Modern
Let us onaider the followiap
fta-ins
l1adin aa
Sproaoh,
Tprovide
adeqt
it is
that the aces* and *eit
stati.ons in Seattle from a tsffie
17 inadequate but chaotic,
er-
mad
afe
tano
fa£.iities
for
sad exit of taxiabs, po-idin easytates
to these approaches tot red eaps or porters.,.
end
he trasfer
of psuaers
lugage frm the pasnger tin to the taxieab loading space,.
t
faeiiee,
st.'o.rageca acies ad m f loaing and -i.
ad
e appoah
of 'passea
,ad I
Wto ad frm taxicabs iA the ity f Seattle are aatirnly iadeUre,
In the
easeof the
iang-ae et Statien, there is a comialiag
private are, mail trucks, express traeks
now being used by tawdiabs,
In
t
of baggage tacks,
other tpes of traffic in the rea
e
Othe
of the Union sttion,
only a t
P.
adequate space is vailable directly n frot -of the tation ead this is difficult
or, both naons a exit.
2.
road
* A large
y mea
se"stato
of
2
umber of passenera apprach .and leav, the raUil-
iate ears. At the present i'e, there art no areas
-4.
for the parking of private care w-ithin reasonable distance of thev passener
stations, necessitating the carrying of btage.gand the trasferring
-pasengers theaselves from a diatancee of to
3,
-St.tita
o.
,
r three blocks..
)f
the
The proximity of the two Seattli St.tions _
directly aross 4th Aveue '.uth -- iakesa
'oable a conecting of the two for
pa.ssnger transfer purposes without passing through the havy traffic
streets adjacent thereto*
on thee
Loeatim of' the Termnl Po.t Office on the
lag.
I.0..',T
4. f
north eilde of' Sig Street to the west of 3rd Ane South entailsa ovementof
Av.n.e Suth,
froxone station to the other by xeas of trucks fia $2nd
ail,
Jackson Street, 4th AvesueSouth,to Dearborn, these ntuning lang th ramp
I.
:`i
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"I·
:
and lower roadway to the Union Sta tion,
approamch for passengers
. ore
jp_.n Ag_:
5.
from
is on
he statione
n some ases, passengers are required to ross
the sameleve as the tracks,
ethertracks i makig their approach.
in view of these 'onditions, the writer suggest- t+at
be ade of the fllot..DY'i
s.·
5
That a proper taxicab
· . taicabet
·- ·,
·
)IY:· ·n·.
J:
j
storage pace, espee.ily
2. Passeer
h,
&
n the arrival of tnaeontental
Oar feilitiun
tranins.,
That wffIcinat pavedaea:be t ~vide
to
the south of the taxicab coneourse sad over the samerailroad rea for the reasenable satora.e of pri
.e passenger ars approaching r eaving the station With
'g.
s·
f'
ted y wn.e of
oneours be ostx
eh..
paving the area over the raiLrad tras ka to the: south of the stio$ sn -'*
ease, thus prrditg
eas appr ah sdt exit from thia cone orse provi. ..iont
e
madefor he trauefr of baggage from the .as$'evaer trains to this eoucourn by
the.red ape. Thiconcoerse should be, of. 'm'-fteitst aideto supy '.ta-iab
pase .we
r Baago
3,, 'tti
Ooineetioas"
Tbht means of passage fro
s
be provided witout the necessity off cmbating atreams o traffic
£tatio
to station
a at presext,
'i:
4, Pt
betweo the t
"
Dearben St.
·;
.,
Offie Temin lt That terminal Pest Office faEilities
estations in the are
Passenger -Tra
be placed
b.rnesth 4th Aenue Seouthfrom Jaeksn
Approacha That gla-enelosed
St.. to
eorridors for passengmr
ladingto
station to the suth Vith satirways
track approach be extended from the
F'
ri.
9.
.;·
fFi
i
i:,
·1
the popr
tracks
-
track No. 1,
0o.2, No. 3, and so on, ra .eeessity
rrufrea.
It is the further thuht of the writer that the Waitifg Roe iu the King Street
the lower or King Street level to the Jackson St.
Station should
.rom be moved
ad other pproae.
levea, releasing this lower level for bagppgage
As a enerai coment, it wwid
em thatthn intense cmpetition
an he tras-
portation. field that now exi.sts and willexts.t o a reatere=tnt in he postwar period betvwen air, railroald and motor oach systems would necessitate
'
serious consideration of everyfacility
for t
of theentering
passenger
Furt.her, Sattle
sety,
omfort and convenience
the tattions,
has grown ver
theestimate of well-qualifi$e
appreciably during the war eriod and i
it would ",ea that erious thught for he fture ShaCd b given.
i
......
ti
Wt aew 48
SB. rane,
x.gineer
A.n
A.
md tE
Trfflc
1t.oim
,Vn
a er
JABtVL,
COt E
ChieagooMilwukiee,St. Pul & Paeifte Rilway
Robert . t eFarland, As't to President
orthera Pacific Rilway Co.
. EI, Derrig, Asst.Chief Engineer
Northern Pcifie Railway Co.
.,.,
.
g
t
ot+. F
I. J. Se7tou, A t+.Chief gtneer
reat Northern filay
;'
'
S, S. t
rrtt,
este
Traffic
P
""g
Great Northern Railway
.. ;-._
* 4s-%
is
uthoritive that it will eOatinue to grow, o
F,t. Bisb*,upt.
Ling Street Station
Art ur A. urphy, AstS. to President
Union Pacific Railroad
Sam Murray, Re ident Engineer
Union Pacific Railroad - ?o.rtld,
Ore*
U. S. Post Office Garage,
Seattle 4, Vash. June 8, 1946
Mr. Arnold G. Gangnes,
19 estgate,
Cambridge
39, Mass.
Dear Mr. Gangnes:
Almost a month since your letter - forgive the delinquent - or am
I too late to help in the thesis - but truthfully I did struggle to
secure information so as to be of some help to you - it seems that everytime I made a forward stroke I was pushed back to sea aain do to the
advice of those supposedly in the know.
Your thesis subject, "A Railroad Terminal for Seattle," however,
is worth the effort
and somedaywill come to a realization.
If the
Seattle Chamber of Commerce heard about it they would exclaim "Bravo,
Lord only knows that not only the PostOffice
and More Power to you."
but also the railroads, express, taxi cabs, cars, trucks are all ammed
into.dead ends fighting each other in an effort to ensnarl our confusion
The only road to Heaven is prayer, and that is the
around the depots.
way the boys around the Terminal P.O. feel about it - ask your father-inlaw.
We tried everything else and failing have come to the conclusion
that we will have to bend our knees a little.
As suggested by you, the sensible thing to do is to oin all railroads into Seattle into one grand Union depot, taking in the terminal
The postoffice should
postoffice, express, and other aecessary evils.
be in an accessible position so that mail cars may be easily spotted to
the lower level of the building for loading or unloading purposes; this
would expedite distribution in the building by means of conveyor belts
to the upper floors - consideration being given both for local and out-
of-town connections.
Some twenty years ago the City of Seattle agreed to the use of the
space under Fourth Ave. So., between the two depots, for a mail terminal,
but todate - although the space can still
be utilized - I am afraid that'
the baby has outgrown its crib - we would have to kick out the backboard
and make use of the now vacant space adjoining the New RichmondHotel,
that is the lot or block on the north side of Jackson St. between 4th &
This area was once offered to the P.O.Dept when bids were called
5th Av.
for several years ago, by the U.P. R.R., but the G.N. site - the square
block between King and Jackson, 2nd to 3rd - was taken under option instead.
That option has now expired.
In speaking with George B. Starr, Postmaster, and others, the concensus of option is that no action - appropriation or otherwise - will be
taken towards a new terminal for at least five years, as prospects now
stand the Government is giving priorities to Veteran hospitals and other
We are badly in need of a new and larger building,
emergency measures.
but we must await our turn - but that turn is sure to come, maybe sooner
thqn we anticipate..
To house the Terminal P.O. would require a structure of eight
stories - its lower level to be utilized strictly as loading platforms
for trucks - conveyors to upper floors for distribution purposes. The
details of a postoffice is something with which you are familiar - as
your father-in-law, Mike Klepach, no doubt has unwound its intricacies
many a time - to the layman it offers the picture of a labyrinth.
I
-·
4.
To use the space where we now stand for a new terminal building,
action no doubt would be taken towards securing a tunnel under the
King St. Passenger Depot and tracks so as to ingress to the Union
Depot, as half of the mail must be transferred from the Terminal to
The tunnel no doubt would be a series of conveyor
the other depot.
belts.
I am afraid that I have not offered you very much in your
problem, so if you want to rate high just pray hard, yourself, for
Everyone you
there is no easy road to Heaven as I stated before.
i..
contact seems to have a different idea as to the construction of a
a:l
.·.
terminal - and where it should be located - but there are certain
basic or fundamental necessitities First - it must be accessible to the depots and within hailing
distance of the docks, as we move tons of mail every day from Alaska
and the trans-Pacific - and with time and growth of trade which is
;·
bound to increase considerably - it meansconsiderable short hauls
by trucks of heavy tonnage, which is quite a cost item. Piers 50 and
51 for Alaska, foot of King St., and Pier 39 and other Armydocks,
i·1
·
foot of Atlantic St., are the most used right now, although we travel
the entire waterfront from Interbay to the IWest\Waterway.
is a newspaper clipping which may prove of some service
Enclosed
At least you can look at the corner of Fourth Aveme and
to you.
Jackson St. with recollections and say, "Gee, I wish I was back in
Seattle ."
I sincerely hope you success in your undertaking, and anyone
tackling "A Postoffice Terminal" for a thesis indicates ambition
that will carry far in a well chosen career.
Respectfully, yours,
A
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