The 1888 Seattle Lottery for Homeownership
A classic speculative land scheme promised five free cottages to lucky buyers, fueling the rapid expansion of Seattle's residential map.
One of the largest, best located and most desirable tracts ever placed upon the market, consisting of 60 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 these houses will create homes for ten families, and will enhance the value of all remaining lots. The drawing for houses will take place at the office of Leary & Kittinger, under the supervision of three prominent citizens. A boy or girl is next selected by the purchasers of lots, who will proceed to draw from the box. First a name and then a number. These are then recorded by the clerks.
“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 speculative 'lottery' marketing mirrors the intense, high-stakes pressure of modern Seattle's housing market. While today's developers use tech-forward marketing to sell luxury condos, the 1888 approach of using a raffle to move land in an 'addition' shows that the dream of owning a piece of the city has always been a powerful, if sometimes precarious, engine for growth in Seattle.
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