The Denny Hotel Deal: How Seattle’s Elite Bought Their Way Into History
A canvas for stock subscriptions begins today to fund the city's first grand hotel. Dr. Minor and Mr. Collins lead the charge, urging property owners to invest in a project that promises to accommodate next summer's travel 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.
THE DANNY HOTEL SUBSCRIPTION.
A canvass among our citizens for subscriptions to the stock of the Danny Hotel began yesterday and will be continued till the sum of $10,000 is secured. This amount, with that secured by the original subscription and through the agency of Mr. Denny, will insure the building of the hotel on the plan proposed and its complete equipment in time to accommodate the summer travel of next year.
The request for stock subscriptions made by Mr. Denny is entirely proper, and it is very moderate in consideration of the magnitude and public importance of the project. It is right that in this great work he should not be left to bear the burden alone, but should have the support and co-operation of those who are to be benefited. This fact is fully recognized and there is scarcely a doubt that the money will be raised.
Dr. T. T. Minor and Mr. John H. Collins, Jr., acting as a committee, spent three hours yesterday in circulating a subscription paper, with the following result:
Fred E.lander.... $100 Bailey Oates.... $100 William E. Bailey... $500 L. G. White.... $250 Thos T Minor.... $250 John P. Moyt.... $1,000 J. D. Lumsden.... $1,000 Thomas Burke.... $250 J. R. Thompson... $250 Morris Bros.... $1,000 John O. Scarry.... $1,000 Robt Snipe.... $100 F. Collins.... $100 J. W. Graham.... $1,000 M. A. & K. Gottstein... $1,000 Rebelman & Lowellyn... $100 E. C. Miles.... $100 H. H. Lewis.... $500 Beeds & Bintliff... $100 Total: $7,450
The canvass will be continued tomorrow and till the whole amount is secured. There should be no holding back in this very important matter. It is a duty which every man of property owes to himself and to the city to help this work along by a liberal subscription. This is not in any sense a donation, it is in fact an investment and, owing to the generosity of Mr. Denny who puts in the site at less than half its value, an investment upon terms of great advantage.
Mr. Denny's generosity in this matter merits a prompt response and we sincerely hope that it will be made.
This 1890s push for the 'Danny Hotel' (likely a typo for Denny Hotel) highlights how early Seattle developers relied on private capital campaigns to build civic infrastructure. The emphasis on 'investment' over 'donation' mirrors modern real estate development, where public-private partnerships are essential for large-scale projects like stadiums or transit hubs.
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