A Sudden Real Estate Windfall
A Seattle property owner sees a hundred-dollar investment turn into a massive profit, highlighting the city's sudden speculative 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.
Benj. Lippincott and wife, of Washington City, accompanied by their son and daughter-in-law, are at present sojourning in Seattle. A few years ago Mr. Lippincott was induced by a friend to invest in some property in and about Seattle, the money required being but a hundred dollars. Yesterday Mr. Lippincott instructed his business agent to sell his possessions here for $10,000. In less than half an hour the money was reported to his credit in the bank, and the deed of the property made to D. T. Wheeler. Several gentlemen formed a pool and bought Mr. Lippincott's interest in this property together, and at a price they say they got $5,000 the best of the bargain.
“In less than half an hour the money was reported to his credit in the bank.”
The rapid appreciation of land value described here foreshadows the relentless speculative real estate market that has come to define Seattle in the 21st century. What was a $100 gamble in 1883 illustrates the origins of the city's long-standing obsession with property wealth.
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