Seattle's Jackson and Rainier Lots Came With Cottages
In 1888, a massive housing development promised buyers a 'small fortune' by raffling off luxury cottages to lucky land purchasers.
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 in Seattle, consisting of 60 choice residence lots, located in the growing direction of the city and only 17 minutes ride from the Post Office. In an unprecedented offer, five elegantly finished, modern design cottages—ranging in value from $750 to $1,000 each—are to be given away with the property. Every purchaser secures a lot, and five out of the whole number secure houses with the lots. The uniform price of lots is $275 each. This is the greatest building enterprise ever inaugurated in Seattle, affording to each purchaser the full value of the original investment, and a small fortune in every ten of the whole number. The Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition is connected with the business center of Seattle by the Jackson Street Cable Railway. The road starts at the corner of Jackson and Second Streets, a very central location, and runs up Jackson Street toward the addition. The cars run every 20 minutes, and in less than three months the service will be adjusted to pass there every 10 minutes. The title to Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition is guaranteed to be absolutely perfect, and the plan is to be carried out precisely as advertised or money will be refunded.
“The building of houses will create homes for ten families, and will double the value of all remaining lots.”
The 1888 Kittinger brothers' development mirrors today's 'lottery' atmosphere in the Seattle housing market, where aggressive marketing and speculative land deals drive growth. While the 1880s used raffles to incentivize expansion into the outskirts, today's developers rely on rapid urban density and tech-boom speculation to move inventory.
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