Aerial of sewer break damage in Seattle, Washington, 1957. The Ravenna Trunk Sewer line had been built in 1909-1910 and was one of the first sewer tunnels built with the aid of compressed air. The original contractor on the project gave up because of the quicksand prevelant in the area, and it was this quicksand that contributed to the underground cave-in. The disaster began on November 11, 1957, and caused extensive damage to Ravenna Boulevard. Repairs were not completed until October 20, 1959. This photo looks northwest along NE Ravenna Boulevard. (Caption information from: "Seattle's Catastrophic Ravenna Cave-In," by Roy W. Morse.)

Source: Used with permission of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry.

Workmen at top of hole caused by sewer break, Seattle, Washington, 1957. See aerial above.

Source: Used with permission of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry.

Sewer cave-in in Seattle, Washington. Photo date unknown, probably the 1957 sewer break on Ravenna Boulevard (shown above).

Source: John Jurgens, Trenchless Resources International (TRI).