Gas prices drop in Seattle
Starting July 1st, 1883, residents and businesses will pay $3 per 1000 feet for gas.
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.
On and after July 1st, 1883, the price of gas will be $3 per 1000 feet. All bills payable from the 1st to 3d of every month, during banking hours, at Dexter Horton Co.'s bank. Delinquents will be charged the old rate, viz., $4 per 1000 feet. The time has come when by the possibility of increasing the number of its patrons it is advisable and desirable on the part of the gas company to make this reduction. A dollar taken from the price will immediately effect the exclusion of coal oil from business houses, and will cause the introduction of gas to a large number of private residences. The reduced rate will also commend itself to the city and will be an incentive for putting up a number of additional street lamps.
“A dollar taken from the price will immediately effect the exclusion of coal oil from business houses.”
Utilities pricing remains a constant lever of civic life in Seattle, reflecting the transition from private coal-gas monopolies to broader public service expectations. This 1883 notice shows how early municipal growth necessitated utility expansion.
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