The Bricklayer Shortage of 1888
As Seattle began its rapid expansion, contractors scrambled to find enough skilled labor to keep pace with the building boom.
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.
A contractor's notice calls for fifty bricklayers, stating that they can find employment at once by applying to Otto Ranke, contractor, Seattle, Washington Territory.
The notice gives no wages, length of work, or description of the job beyond the number of men sought.
“Fifty bricklayers can find steady employment at good wages.”
The urgent call for skilled tradesmen in this 1888 advertisement echoes Seattle's perennial struggle to staff its construction sector. Just as then, the city's growth is constrained by the labor force available to build the density it requires.
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