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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 33 |
| 1877 | 24 |
| 1878 | 25 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 48 |
| 1884 | 22 |
| 1885 | 31 |
| 1886 | 22 |
| 1887 | 13 |
| 1888 | 32 |
| 1889 | 87 |
| 1890 | 13 |
| 1891 | 81 |
| 1892 | 131 |
| 1893 | 155 |
| 1894 | 113 |
| 1895 | 130 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 21 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 35 |
| 1904 | 48 |
| 1905 | 6 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1908 | 18 |
| 1909 | 43 |
| 1910 | 4 |
| 1911 | 8 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1915 | 5 |
| 1916 | 10 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 2 |
| 1928 | 1 |
1,211 stories matching block
- The South End's Schoolhouse Fight
A letter to the editor accuses Seattle's school directors of stalling on a promised south-end school block while the north end already got its building.
- A Million-Dollar Land Grab and the Wife Left Behind
Abandoned for ten years in Pennsylvania, Mrs. J. E. Jordan comes to Seattle's superior court to stop her husband from deeding away the community's real estate to a medicine company — and names the men who helped him do it.
- The Building Boom of 1889: Seattle’s Rapid Transformation
A look at the official building permits issued in May 1889, documenting the surge of brick and frame construction that was reshaping the city just weeks before the Great Seattle Fire.
- A Panic Year Boom: Newport Built Through Hard Times
Despite a national financial panic, Newport added 87 homes, six concrete business blocks, new depots, churches, and a reshaped downtown—proud evidence of a town betting on itself.
- Children Fight to Reclaim Property Sold by Their Father
After their mother died, the heirs of the Wist estate allege their father illegally sold their share of family lands to local investors.
- The Price of Panic: Mass Foreclosures in 1877 Seattle
As the territorial economy tightens, a single Sheriff’s notice reveals the vast, liquidated assets of early Seattle real estate speculators.
- The Price of Debt in 1877 Seattle
Foreclosure notices reveal the rapid shift in property ownership as King County land was liquidated at the courthouse steps.
- A Revolver at Her Ear: Mary Steel's Third Fight for a Divorce
Mary Steel's third divorce suit against David H. Steel laid bare a bitter fight over $49,000 in Seattle and Montana property—and allegations of violence, control and intimidation.
- The Great Dayton Fire: A Block of Ashes and a City’s Near Miss
On the night of April 2, 1882, flames consumed three blocks in downtown Dayton, Washington. While the town paid with its buildings, Seattle’s own fire department narrowly escaped disaster thanks to a single force pump.
- The $4,800 School Lot in the Wilderness
Seattle taxpayers cry foul as school directors eye block 14, Central Seattle—land with no families within half a mile and a price twice what similar property fetched.
- 1889 Spokane Falls Fire Destroys Nearly Forty Blocks
A catastrophic fire destroys thirty blocks of Spokane's business district, echoing the recent destruction in Seattle.
- Seattle Rebuilds: Schwabacher Block, Arlington Hotel Lead Construction Surge
Architects unveil plans for new commercial blocks, a school, and hospital expansions as Seattle enters a building frenzy.
- The Man Who Thought He Owned Seattle Died Chasing a Ghost Fortune
Henry Zechow spent nine years and a small army of lawyers trying to claim an uncle's imaginary empire—including a block of downtown Seattle—before his body turned up in the Fraser River.
- The Tide Lands Plat: A Waterfront Laid Out for Sale
State appraisers file the plat for the Tacoma tide lands, opening 600 acres of shore and mud flats to sale—unless upland owners claim them first.
- Fifteen Minutes and the Whole Town Core Was Gone
A flue fire in the Hotel Sedro kitchen took the Pioneer Block with it — the council chambers, the bank, the druggist and the newspaper, all in one afternoon.
- The Gift of Block 88
When George Kinnear gifted a plot of land for a city park in 1888, he demanded the city clear the dead trees and build a fence, sparking a long-term vision for Seattle's public spaces.
- The Dream of a 'Solid Block': Seattle's Early Real Estate Ambitions
Prominent business owners in late 19th-century Seattle collaborate to replace fragmented shops with a singular, uniform 'splendid block' of stone and steel, signaling the city's transition from pioneer town to burgeoning metropolis.
- Newport’s Railroad Future Takes Shape in a $150,000 Yard
The Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad unveils plans for terminal yards, depots, switches and a loop through old and new Newport—and west-side farmers lobby for the line down the Calispel valley.
- A Costly Court House Proposal
A local property owner attempts to pressure King County into buying his bluff-top lot for an exorbitant price, despite the site's clear logistical flaws.
- After the Great Fire, Tull Built Bigger
A Spokane furniture merchant lost a new bank building in the 1889 blaze, then rebuilt at Riverside and Stevens with the city's largest block.
- The $25,000 Question: Where Olympia's New High School Should Stand
A proposed exchange for the Blinn block on Main Street would give the district room for a full-block school—but cost $12,000 to $15,000 more.
- Aberdeen's Schoolhouse Standoff: Bonds, Bids, and a $3,000 Lot
A petition drive and a landowner's counteroffer stalled the city's new school while the board tried to build around the bond money.
- The Real Estate Auction That Built Seattle’s First Suburbs
In March 1889, just months after the Great Fire devastated downtown, executors of James Crawford’s estate sold off dozens of city lots in a public auction at Occidental Square. These parcels would become the foundation for neighborhoods like Judkins and Bellevue.
- The Missing Will That Would Have Given Seattle a Library
Henry Yesler's widow and two doctors are arrested, accused of burning a will that left the pioneer's fortune—and his mansion—to the city.
- Who Owns the Shoreline? Olympia’s Tide-Land Fight
A citizens’ commission debated street grids, meander lines, and property values as appraisers prepared to price the Olympia waterfront.
Also about this, in other words
- A New School for a Growing City
The Seattle School Board secures a central block from developer W. N. Bell for a new permanent schoolhouse.
- The Block Party: Young Married Couples Plot to Buy an Entire City Block in Seattle
As streetcar lines extend to the suburbs, a group of young professionals in Seattle are pooling their resources to purchase a whole block of land, aiming to build matching homes and create a private enclave.
- The Brick Block Mandate: Why Your Empty Lot is Killing Seattle's Economy
An editorial argues that refusing to build substantial structures on city land is a civic failure, urging property owners to construct brick buildings to retain tradesmen and attract new industry.
- The Olympic Block Sting
An unsuspecting man loses his gold to a woman he met in a downtown hotel hallway.
- The Industrial Grasp on Public Space
A Seattle business owner petitions to close a city block to make room for his growing lumber factory, sparking a debate on private gain versus public infrastructure.
- Anacortes Landmark Reduced to Ash
A mysterious morning fire consumes the Keystone Block, leaving behind only charred timber.
- The Rise of Artificial Stone
A local entrepreneur transforms Lynden's construction landscape with a new concrete block plant that promises to revolutionize architecture.
- The Great Tacoma Brick Boom: A City Building Itself Into the Future
As ten new brick structures rise on Water Street and real estate auctions fetch record prices, Tacoma’s leaders are betting big on a booming future—despite labor shortages and material scarcity.