The Great Seattle Real Estate Boom of 1888
A meticulously logged list of land deeds from the final days of 1888 reveals a city in the throes of explosive growth, with rapid development radiating outward from the central business district.
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.
Despite the fact that people who have any business are engaged at this time in making a 'cleanup' of last year and a start for the new, real estate goes along at the same steady gait that has been noted for the past eight months. Total deeds for the week ending Jan. 5, 1889, amounted to $230,799. Among the many transactions recorded, Harry White transferred numerous lots in White & Manning's addition to West Seattle; C. Calkins sold multiple lots in Maple Leaf and East Seattle; and significant acreage changed hands near Lake Union and the Denny & Hoyt additions. The activity demonstrates a city rapidly expanding its footprint, with speculators and residents alike securing parcels in what would become the neighborhoods defining modern Seattle.
“Despite the fact that people who have any business are engaged at this time in making a 'cleanup' of last year and a start for the new, real estate goes along at the same steady gait.”
This record of 1888 land deals offers a window into the frantic pace of Seattle's early expansion, mirroring the rapid gentrification and neighborhood development of the 21st century. Much like today, the list is filled with developers carving out 'additions' and subdivisions to accommodate a swelling population, establishing the property-value patterns that continue to shape the city's housing affordability struggles.
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