Seattle Lot Listings Pitch Prime Business Corners in 1888
A classic advertisement from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reveals the city’s early land-grabbing fervor, offering prime downtown lots and suburban tracts for a fraction of today's prices.
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.
FOR SALE: One lot on Front street, 60x120 feet, right in the center of business. One lot on Front street, 30x120 feet; central location. One lot corner of Commercial and Main. This is one of the best corners that is offered for sale in the city at the present time. It is a fine business location. 120x120 feet square, corner of Mill and Second. This is a magnificent corner. One-half block on Fourth street. One lot on Third street; fine location. Two valuable farms, well improved; only six and eight miles from the city. The above list of properties are ALL first class and will pay any capitalist to examine them. HEFNER & SHIVELY, 815 Front St., Seattle, W.T.
“This is one of the best corners that is offered for sale in the city at the present time. It is a fine business location.”
This 1888 ad captures a moment when Seattle’s foundational street grid was still being aggressively sold off to speculators. It serves as a stark reminder that Seattle’s modern struggle with land valuation, gentrification, and displacement began with these early, high-stakes real estate deals on what are now some of the most expensive blocks in Pioneer Square.
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