The Great Seattle Housing Lottery of 1888
Promoters promised a ‘small fortune’ to anyone buying a lot, dangling five fully finished cottages as a randomized bonus in an early, high-stakes real estate marketing scheme.
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 100 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 $750 to $1000 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 building of houses will create homes for ten families, and will enhance the value of all remaining lots. The title to Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition is guaranteed to be absolutely perfect, and everything is to be carried out precisely as advertised or money will be refunded. The method of award involves the names of purchasers and numbers corresponding to lots placed in a ballot box. A committee of three prominent citizens will oversee the drawing to ensure fair play.
“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 five of the whole number.”
This 1888 marketing stunt highlights a recurring theme in Seattle’s history: the commodification of residential space through aggressive, speculative development. Much like the contemporary ‘lottery’ atmosphere of today’s overheated real estate market, buyers in the 1880s were urged to gamble on the ‘growth direction’ of the city to secure a foothold.
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