Seattle’s Housing Crisis: Brick by Brick, Room by Room
As the city races to build new brick structures on Second and Smith Streets, officials warn that even these new constructions won't be enough to stop rents from skyrocketing.
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 demand continues for brick buildings to be used as offices and retail and wholesale stores, but there seems to be a prospect of an attempt being made to meet this demand, and in the course of a few weeks probable brick-laying will be pushed forward with great activity. Work has been begun on the Gilmore, Drew, and small Burke blocks, and before the first of April construction will have commenced on the Holyoke, Kittinger and Squire blocks and also upon two others on Smith Second Street. The large Burke building on Second street will also be under way shortly after it is possible to prepare for building on the site on Second and Cherry Streets twenty years disposed by Harrison parties.
The completion of these brick buildings may, to a measure, provide for our needs, but there are so many seeking living accommodations that it is probable when all intermediate structures are gone, the demand for room will be nearly as urgent as it is at the present time.
This 1904 report captures Seattle’s first major post-fire building boom, where the city rushed to replace wooden shanties with fireproof brick structures. The editorial warning that 'intermediate structures' (likely tenements or older housing stock) would disappear highlights a recurring urban pattern: new development often displaces existing affordable housing, leaving the demand for rooms just as urgent as before.
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