A piece of Seattle's history was discovered during a construction project for a new bus line, according to KING 5.
Crews recently started tearing up concrete for the upcoming RapidRide G Line on Madison Street, but little did they know that a relic of the city's public transit system would be uncovered in the process: streetcars.
Local historian Feliks Banel told reporters that these century-old cars and cables may date back to 1910 when railroads were the primary way for Seattlites to get around the city. Streetcars were retired in the 1940s when automobiles and buses took over public transportation.
"So they were probably about 30 years old when they were covered up with concrete and now they’re probably 120 years old," Banel says, highlighting how much public transit has changed in the Emerald City over the decades. Madison Street itself has been a major transportation route in that history.
"It connects saltwater Elliott Bay to freshwater Lake Washington and there used to be a ferry at the base of Madison that went over to Kirkland," the historian explains. "There’s so much that’s happened here in the last 150 years that as new things came along they just covered it up!"
Now, in an ironic twist, Madison Street will be home to a modern rail line that's expected to open in 2024.