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ravennasinkhole1.jpg
A massive sinkhole that opened up in north Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood in 1957 was the nation's largest sewer failure at the time. (Seattle Municipal Archives image)

Remembering Seattle's 'Great Ravenna Sinkhole'

BY Josh Kerns  on March 1, 2013 @ 12:18 pm (Updated: 12:56 pm - 3/1/13 )

A sinkhole that opened suddenly Thursday night beneath the bedroom a Florida home - swallowing a man in his bed - is rekindling memories of a massive sinkhole in Seattle decades ago.

Seattle historian Feliks Banel remembered "The Great Ravenna Sinkhole" in a conversation Friday with KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank Show.

The hole collapsed on the night of Nov. 11, 1957 in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood at Ravenna Blvd. between 16th and 17th Avenues NE. Caused by the failure of a six-foot diameter sewer pipe break, at the time it was the biggest one of its kind.

Gallery: Remembering Seattle's "Great Ravenna Sinkhole"

Repairs took two years to complete, including first a sewer bypass through Ravenna Park, then stabilizing the broken trunk with a newly devised grout material and re-boring the tunnel.

"They think it might have been damaged in the earthquake in 1949 and then gradually the dirt - 145 deep down this pipe was - the dirt started to gradually wash away," Banel said.

The hole measured 60 feet deep, 120 feet wide, 200 feet long. Somewhat miraculously, no one was injured and not a single home was damaged. Dozens of people were evacuated from 10 houses in the neighborhood north of the University District.

"A few days after the initial collapse there was a bigger collapse, the hole expanded but none of the houses were damaged," Banel said.

Today, you'd never know the cave-in ever happened. Banel visited the area today and said all of the houses are still there, many looking exactly like they did 60 years later

"Pretty amazing repair," Banel said. "They had to bypass this part of the sewer line. They had to build something like a 5,000 foot long bypass and then get in there and put in the fill and rebuild the street and I looked around I don't see any evidence. The sidewalk, the curbs, everything looks like it's been there forever."

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Fla. man swallowed by sinkhole

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (10)


  • Add A Comment

  • ron prevost wrote...
    Boy, does THAT bring back a memory !
    March 1, 2013 12:14 pm
    I was 11 & my brother 7 at the time. Our dad drove us down to look at it. Wow.

    Of course, by modern radio host standards, we were all nearly killed, as the ground we walked on collapsed only 48 hours later.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Don't tell me Burbank...
    March 1, 2013 12:54 pm
    ...you almost were gonna walk by there back then, prior to your birth,.....whew...another close call.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Country_Dog wrote...
    Why don't we just make a law
    March 1, 2013 1:55 pm
    that makes having a sinkhole illegal. Then we wouldn't have any more sinkholes.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    The sinkhole is still in Seattle...
    March 1, 2013 2:07 pm
    They just moved it down to city hall.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • po_guy wrote...
    THAT, my friend...
    March 1, 2013 5:39 pm
    is their OUTHOUSE!!!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Must be nice to be unemployed
    March 1, 2013 8:28 pm
    12:54 p.m. on a weekday, sitting at home trolling around the news, just waiting to post something negative. hpd, you and your butt buddy republicans that don't have lives or any personal interaction other than this site are a sad commentary on our culture today.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    Hey genius
    March 1, 2013 10:30 pm
    Ever hear of "Shift Work"?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    Aw come on.
    March 2, 2013 8:26 am
    I broke my foot, toe and two ribs and I'm stuck at home for 4 weeks. I'm bored out of my mind. Let me troll in peace please...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AKAF wrote...
    Greatest sinkhole in Seattle?
    March 1, 2013 11:02 pm
    I don't believe it...it's the 9-12 slot for KIRO....love you, Luke...but not in that way! lol. Great show, don't agree with you do make me laugh.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    Aaaahhh!!
    March 2, 2013 8:19 am
    How can you tell if there's a sink hole? Are there sinkholes in Kirkland?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }