The 1886 Real Estate Lottery
In the booming territory of Washington, developers promised a house to lucky buyers—if they could win the land draw.
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 and most desirable tracts ever placed upon the market, of choice residence lots, located in the growing section of the city, and only 10 minutes ride from the Post Office. An unprecedented offer: Five elegantly finished, modern design cottages, ranging in value from $1000 to $500 each, to be given away with the property. Every purchaser secures a lot, and five out of the whole number secure houses with the lots, worth from $1000 to $500. Uniform price of lots: $275 each. Lots are 50x100 feet. 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.
“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.”
Long before Seattle’s modern housing crisis dominated headlines, developers were using speculative gimmicks like lotteries to lure buyers into 'growing' districts. The 1886 promise of a 10-minute commute to the post office and a 'guaranteed' house for a lucky few mirrors the aggressive, high-stakes marketing used to sell luxury condos in today's densifying neighborhoods.
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