Transportation issues with railroads , the delay in building the planned Lake Washington Ship Canal ( in turn due to the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 , after which the canal was derided by some as the " Kirkland ditch " ) , failure to completely analyze demand and properly lay the foundations for the business , and competition between Tacoma and Seattle , have all been listed as reasons why Great Western never began to produce steel . In any event , the Panic of 1893 resulted in investors defaulting on their stock subscriptions , resulting in insufficient liquidity for the company to complete construction and begin operations . A June , 1895 court judgment transferring all the company 's assets to the land company from which all the steel mill property had been bought signaled the company 's effective bankruptcy
Great Seattle Fire
Great Seattle Fire
Great Western Iron and Steel Company