Seattle Rebuilds After the 1889 Great Fire
A catastrophic blaze levels the city’s business district, triggering a massive relief effort and ushering in new urban planning.
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.
Shortly after the hour of going to press last Thursday afternoon, the report reached us by telephone. Each bulletin placed the fire in a more serious light than the preceding one. Shortly after the breaking out of the fire, at about 3 o'clock, it was seen that it would be impossible to stay the flames, owing to the hot day, brisk north wind, and an inadequate water supply. So, fire apparatus was ordered from the neighboring cities, Olympia, Tacoma and Portland. By the following morning, the business center was a heap of debris. Most of the business portion was destroyed, and Seattle, nor, in fact, any city, can well afford a backset. The burned district will be rebuilt; the solid and handsome brick blocks replacing the rookeries of the southern portion. The cash and valuable papers in the vaults of the various banks were found in good condition when they were opened up. We learn that rebuilding will commence as soon as ruins are cleared, and nothing but brick and stone will be allowed.
“Those who have returned from the burned district say that one who has not visited it can form no conception of the magnitude of the conflagration.”
The 1889 Great Seattle Fire destroyed 25 city blocks and, while tragic, acted as the 'reset' button that transformed a wood-framed frontier town into a modern brick-and-mortar metropolis. The city's subsequent mandate that only fire-resistant materials be used for new construction redefined urban safety in the Pacific Northwest.
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