Five Cottages Lured Buyers to 1888 Seattle Lots
A real estate promotion promised a 'small fortune' by raffling off five luxury cottages to buyers of building lots near the burgeoning Jackson Street cable line.
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.
Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition is one of the largest, best located and most desirable tracts ever placed upon the market, consisting of 60 choice residence lots, located in the growing direction of the city, and only 17 minutes' ride from the Postoffice. As an unprecedented offer, five elegantly finished, modern design cottages, ranging in value from $500 to $1000 each, will be given away with the property. Every purchaser secures a lot, and five out of the whole number secure houses with the lots. The building of these houses will create homes for ten families, and will enhance the value of all remaining lots. The method of award will take place at the office of Messrs. Kittinger, before three prominent citizens. A boy or girl is selected by the purchasers of lots, who will proceed to draw the cards from the boxes: first a name and then a number. Warranty deeds will be made for lots as rapidly as the result is settled. Remember that there are no blanks. Each purchaser gets a lot, and all share in the chance to secure a house worth up to $1000.
“Every purchaser secures a lot, and 5 out of the whole number secure houses with the lots, worth from $1000 to $500.”
The aggressive marketing of 'investment opportunities' via lotteries and speculative housing tracts echoes Seattle's long history of land booms. While today's developers rely on digital marketing rather than public raffles at the Butler Building, the dream of securing an affordable foothold in a rapidly growing, transit-adjacent neighborhood remains a central, and often elusive, promise for residents.
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