The Promised Suburb: Sales Pitch for Palatine Hill
A late 19th-century land developer lures Seattle workers to a ‘suburban’ frontier near Salmon Bay with promises of factories and affordable housing.
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.
Palatine Hill—Adjacent. Lots 40, 50 and 60x110 feet. Only $100 to $150 per lot. The best located, most desirable and cheapest suburban property on the market today. It is situated within three and a half miles of the Seattle postoffice on the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern R. R., and within 10 minutes' easy walk of Ross Station on that road. Four minutes' walk to Salmon Bay, one mile to Smith Cove car shops. This beautiful locality is particularly suited for homes! As it is within easy reach of Seattle center by rail or carriage road, and with the numerous manufactories already situated there, and the various ones that have secured sites to locate there within the next few months, there will be constant openings for hundreds of machinists, carpenters, masons, and, in fact all kinds of skilled and unskilled laborers. Ross Postoffice is soon to be established, as is also a general merchandise store, which will add much to the value, and a great advantage is that there is a schoolhouse on the ground for the children. Liberal terms offered: Payments shall be made as follows: Half down, half the balance in three months, and the remainder in six months, at 8% per annum. These payments may be made previous to maturity if the purchaser desires. We also offer 10 per cent discount for complete cash payment. Builders of homes: We offer to all builders of homes worth not less than $250 each within three months after purchase, their lots at from $75 to $100 each according to location.
“The best located, most desirable and cheapest suburban property on the market today.”
This 1888 advertisement showcases the familiar Seattle pattern of 'frontier' land speculation, where developers promised affordable suburban homes near industrial hubs. Today, the area around Ross Station (now the Interbay/Ballard edge) remains a site of intense tension between industrial land use and the desperate need for housing, echoing the same struggle for accessibility that defined Seattle’s early growth.
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