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The Boom at Ross Station: Selling the Future of Seattle

Developers pitch affordable suburban lots near Salmon Bay to laborers, promising a new hub of industry just three miles from downtown.

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.

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 Post Office on the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad, and within 10 minutes' easy walk of Ross Station. It is near Salmon Bay, one mile from Smith Cove Car Shops. This beautiful locality is particularly suited for the location of homes. As it is within easy reach of the 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 increasing openings for thousands of machinists, carpenters, masons, and, in fact, all kinds of skilled and unskilled laborers. Ross Post Office is soon to be established, as is also a general merchandise store, which will add much to the value. Liberal terms offered: Payments shall be made as follows: half down, half the balance in three months, and the remainder in six months, at 10 percent. Those payments may be made previous to maturity if the purchaser desires. We also offer 5 percent discount for complete cash payment. 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. Remember, our lots are selling at from $100 to $150 per lot, thus making this the cheapest property on the market.

“The best located, most desirable and cheapest suburban property on the market to-day... particularly suited for the location of HOMES! HOMES! HOMES!”

— Printed in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888
Then · 1888138 years apartNow · 2026

In 1888, developers were selling the 'suburban' dream to laborers in what is now the industrial-heavy Interbay and Ballard neighborhoods. Today, that same area—once pitched as the city’s affordable future—is a battleground for density, zoning, and transit-oriented development as Seattle continues to struggle with the 'homes, homes, homes' crisis the ad promised over 130 years ago.

The original page

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-08-17. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

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About this story

From
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, AUG 17, 1888, Page 7
Rights
Public domain
Place
47.60323, -122.33028 · placed automatically
The paper in the Library of Congress catalog ↗