The Great Seattle Grade Grind: How City Hall Raised the Floor (and the Cost) of Living
In February 1889, just months after the Great Fire, Seattle’s City Council and Surveyor Scarry announced a massive infrastructure overhaul. By raising street grades by up to four feet in the commercial district, they forced property owners into a costly conformity that would define the city's vertical landscape for decades.
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.
At the last meeting of the City Council, the grades of several streets were established by ordinance. Following are the heights to which the streets affected are to be raised over the grade at present prevailing on them.
At the intersection of Commercial street with Yesler avenue, Washington, Main and Jackson streets, a raise of 4.75 feet; at the intersection of Tenth Second street and Yesler ave., the grade will be the same as at present; at Sixth Second and Washington the raise will be six inches; South Second and Main three inches; South Second and Jackson three inches.
At the intersection of the north line of Yesler avenue with the south line of James street the raise will be two feet; at the intersection of the north line of Yesler with the north line of James the grade is to be raised three and a half feet. At a point 128 feet east of the east line of Front street the grade is to be raised three and a half feet; at the intersection of the north line of James street with the east line of Front the raise is to be four feet; at the intersection of the north line of James street with the west line of Front street the raise will be three and one-half feet.
City Surveyor Scarry was seen Tuesday and was asked how soon the work of raising the streets to the grade as established would be begun. Mr. Scarry replied that he had no idea as to how soon the work would be commenced. It was a matter for the Council to decide on, and that body would undoubtedly consult the convenience of the property owners interested.
One of the principal objects in view in establishing the grades was so that all buildings erected in the future might conform to them. The proposed Pioneer building on First and James streets will conform to the new grade.
It was Mr. Scarry's opinion, however, that when the sewerage system was adopted the grades would be made to conform to their legal height. Mr. Scarry said that he had received a letter from Col. George F. Waring, of Newport, R.I., engaged by the Council to prepare a system of sewerage for this city. Col. Waring stated that the plan would be forwarded within a few days. Col. Waring is a believer in the small sewer system which is made up of small terra cotta and cement pipes recommended by him as suited to the requirements of this city of steep grades.
Councilman T. K. Jones did not think the work of raising the grades in the streets above mentioned would be done for some time yet. It might be deferred for a year or more. When the grades were raised the work would have to be paid for out of the general fund.
This 1889 ordinance captures the brutal physical reality of Seattle’s post-fire reconstruction: the city literally lifted itself up, inch by inch, to accommodate new sewer systems and streetcars. For property owners, this wasn't just engineering; it was a forced renovation that often required raising entire buildings or rebuilding them entirely, concentrating wealth in those who could afford the upgrade while displacing others—a dynamic that echoes in today's luxury development and zoning battles.
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