Five Cottages in 1888 Seattle Jackson-Rainier Lot Drawing
Developers used a high-stakes raffle system to offload residential plots in the city's rapidly expanding Rainier Valley.
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 Post Office. An unprecedented offer: five elegantly finished, modern design cottages, ranging in value from $500 to $1,000 each, to be given away with the property. Every purchaser secures a lot, and 5 out of the whole number secure houses with the lots. The uniform price of lots is $275 each, sized 50x100 feet. The drawing for lots and houses will take place October 1st, 1888, under the supervision of three prominent citizens. A boy or girl will be selected to draw the names from the box. Warranty deeds will be made for lots as rapidly as the result is made known.
“Every purchaser secures a lot, and 5 out of the whole number secure houses with the lots, worth from $500 to $1,000.”
This 1888 promotional scheme highlights the early roots of Seattle's growth-at-all-costs development culture. Just as developers today navigate the city's housing crunch, the Kittinger brothers used the excitement of a 'lottery' to draw residents to what was then the city's outskirts, forever shaping the residential landscape of what we now know as the Rainier Valley.
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