The 1888 Lottery of Homes: A Seattle Real Estate Gamble
Developers used a high-stakes drawing for five brand-new cottages to drum up interest in the nascent Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition.
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.
One of the largest, best located and most desirable tracts ever placed upon the market—consisting of 60 choice residence lots—is located in the growing direction of the city, five minutes' ride from the post office. An unprecedented offer: five elegantly finished, modern design cottages, ranging in value from $500 to $1000 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. The drawing for lots and houses will take place October 15th, 1888, at the office of Messrs. Leary & Kittinger, under the supervision of three prominent citizens. One of the number will act as judge, and two as clerks. A boy or girl will be chosen by the purchasers of lots, who will proceed to draw the cards from the first box—a name and then a number. These are handed to the judge, who will announce both. The Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition is connected with the business center of Seattle by the Jackson Street cable railway.
“Every purchaser secures a lot, and five out of the whole number secure houses with the lots, worth from $500 to $1,000.”
This 1888 promotional scheme highlights Seattle's long history of viewing housing as a speculative asset rather than a basic need. While the specific method of 'lottery' housing has evolved, the core pressure of 'growing in the direction of the city' remains the driving force behind modern development battles in neighborhoods like the Central District.
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