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The Rise of the Suburban Commute

Promotional real estate copy from 1888 reveals the birth of Seattle's northern suburbs, marketing small lots to working-class families tethered to new industrial rail lines.

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.

Palatine Hill. Lots 40, 50 and 60x110 feet, $100 to $150 per lot. The best located, most desirable and cheapest suburban property on the market today. It is situated within three and a half miles of the Seattle Post Office on the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad and within 10 minutes' easy walk of Ross Station on that road. Four minutes' walk to Salmon Bay, one mile to Smith Cove car shops. This beautiful locality is particularly suited for the location of homes. As it is within easy reach of Seattle center by rail or carriage road, and with the numerous manufactories already situated there, and the various ones that have secured sites to locate there within the next few months, there will be openings for hundreds of machinists, carpenters, masons, and, in fact all kinds of skilled and unskilled laborers. Ross Post Office is soon to be established, as is also a general merchandise store, which will add much to the value, and a great advantage is that there is a schoolhouse on the ground for the children. Liberal terms offered: payments shall be made as follows: half down, half the balance in three months, and the remainder in six months, at 6 per cent. We also offer 6 per cent discount for complete cash payment. We offer to all builders of homes worth not less than $250 each within three months after purchase, their lots at from $75 to $100 each according to location. Remember, our lots are selling at from $100 to $150 per lot, thus making this the cheapest property on the market.

“This beautiful locality is particularly suited for the location of homes... there will be openings for hundreds of machinists, carpenters, masons, and, in fact all kinds of skilled and unskilled laborers.”

— Printed in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888
Then · 1888138 years apartNow · 2026

In 1888, developers were selling the dream of homeownership on the 'Palatine Hill' outskirts (modern-day Interbay/Ballard area) by touting proximity to the new rail line. Today, the struggle for housing affordability in these same transit-adjacent corridors continues, though the price of entry has shifted from $150 to millions.

The original page

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-07-22. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

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About this story

From
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, JUL 22, 1888, Page 6
Rights
Public domain
Place
47.64074, -122.37634 · placed automatically
The paper in the Library of Congress catalog ↗