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I Wonder Why Seattle washed away its hills?

Men "rubbernecking" during the Denny regrade project.
Museum of History & Industry
Men "rubbernecking" during the Denny regrade project.

In Seattle, we’re never satisfied: Viaduct out of fashion (… and a little dangerous) – remove it and dig a tunnel; Kingdome no longer fits our vision of a great sports venue – poof!

Remove all the hills because they’re in the way of progress – leveled!

One of the earliest engineers to envision grand changes for Seattle was R.H. Thompson. He’s the guy who leveled the hills in what’s known as the Denny Regrade. To understand our drive to give Seattle a constant make over, we decided to take a closer look at this unsung engineer who dramatically changed the city more than 100 years ago.

Read more at I Wonder Why ... ?

Jennifer Wing is a former KNKX reporter and producer who worked on the show Sound Effect and Transmission podcast.