The Original Seattle Starter Home
A 1876 real estate listing highlights a property near the University, complete with fruit orchards and multiple dwelling houses, showcasing the early layout of the growing city.
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.
GOOD INVESTMENT For Sale AT A BARGAIN. Two lots of the University, with well-bearing orchard and fruit garden, and poultry buildings. There are two dwelling houses upon them, one tenement house rented. A residence story and half, built in 1874, painted. Good rooms below and upstairs, beside pantry, etc. Apply to EASTWICK, MORRIS & CO., Room No. 6, Burnett Building.
“Two lots of the University, with well-bearing orchard and fruit garden, and poultry buildings.”
In 1876, 'University' land in Seattle was a major selling point for prospective homeowners looking for a quiet, agrarian lifestyle. Today, the struggle over proximity to the University of Washington and the intense development of those original garden lots into high-density apartments remains at the heart of Seattle's housing debate.
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