Seattle's Jackson and Rainier Lots Offered Cottage Bonuses
A speculative real estate scheme offered a 'fortune' in cottage homes to entice buyers into Seattle's rapidly expanding southern suburbs.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition is one of the largest, best located and most desirable tracts ever placed upon the market, consisting of 110 choice residence lots, located in the growing direction of the city, and only 15 minutes ride from the Postoffice. An unprecedented offer: Ten elegantly finished, modern design cottages, ranging in value from $500 to $1000 each, to be given away with the property. Every purchaser secures a lot, and 10 out of the whole number secure houses with the lots. The Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition is connected with the business center of Seattle by the Jackson Street Cable Railway. The cars will run every 20 minutes, and in less than three months the service will be adjusted so as to pass there every 10 minutes. The fare is only 5 cents. The drawing for lots and houses will take place at the office of Messrs. Leary & Kittinger, under the supervision of three prominent citizens. Immediately after such selection, a complete list of all the names of purchasers, printed on uniform sized cards, will be furnished. A boy or girl is next selected by the purchasers, who will proceed to draw the cards from the boxes. Remember that there are no blanks. Each purchaser secures a lot, all cleared, and ten out of the whole number secure a house and lot.
“Every purchaser secures a lot, and 10 out of the whole number secure houses with the lots, worth from $500 to $1000.”
This 1888 advertisement highlights a foundational era of Seattle's growth: speculative real estate development fueled by infrastructure (the cable car). Just as then, modern Seattle remains obsessed with transit-oriented development and the dream of affordable homeownership amidst a rising market, though the 'lottery' tactics have evolved into today's complex bidding wars.
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