The Price of a Courthouse
King County officials weigh costly real estate deals while taxpayers are struggling with mounting debt and devalued county script.
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.
During the past few days the County Commissioners of King county have been considering propositions for the purchase of a block on which to build a fine Court House. One of the members of the board stated that five offers had been made to the board, but they were all considered too high except two, which are still under discussion. The two under discussion are the Burib Brown block, lying upon the bluff between Seventh and Eighth streets, comprising eight lots for which the owner asks $12,000, and the beautiful twelve lot block of A. A. Denny, between Second and Third streets, near Mayor Yesler's residence. The latter block is offered for $12,000. But the truth of the matter is, there should be no rush over this business. Our county script has fallen from par to 90 cents on the dollar, and is still on the decline. Times are hard, so to speak, and the overtaxed people are in no condition to spend one hundred thousand or more in Court House property just now. We have a county building, new and convenient and sufficiently large for all immediate purposes, and nothing will be lost by postponing this matter till some future time. Our county is in debt some $40,000, and our script is selling at a figure below par, and for God's sake let us know about as near as we are before we get in any deeper.
“For God's sake let us know about as near as we are before we get in any deeper.”
Debates over the cost of civic infrastructure versus the financial fragility of the public are a permanent feature of Seattle's history. The location mentioned (near Second and Third, near Yesler's) sits in the heart of what remains a high-stakes, high-cost real estate corridor today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.