Shaper of Seattle: Reginald Heber Thomson's Pacific Northwest

by William H. Wilson

"His achievements are woven into Seattle and the surrounding region so durably that they are taken for granted even as Puget Sound, Lake Washington, and Mount Rainier."--Roy O. Hadley

Young, ambitious, and college-educated, Reginald Heber Thomson was eager to make a big impression. But when his steamer docked at Seattle's Yesler's Wharf in 1881, the view was dismal. Nondescript buildings and plank sidewalks sprawled along muddy streets. Utilities...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874223016
• ISBN13: 9780874223019
• Release Date: December 2009
• Publisher: Washington State University Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.4" x 10.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

A fine and very recommended read, not to be missed

There are people who shape directions of entire cities. "Shaper of Seattle: Reginald Heber Thomson's Pacific Northwest" tells the story of this urban engineer who is hugely responsible for how Seattle as it is today. Plumbing, sanitation, roads, and more, his ideas and motives greatly improved Seattle for years to come, and William Wilson does well in covering his life and how he got to his position. For those interested in Seattle history, "Shaper of Seattle" is a fine and very recommended read, not to be missed.