The Seattle Boom of 1888
A real estate pitch from 1888 promises fortune to those who buy into North Seattle’s 'unplatted land'—a document that highlights the origins of Seattle's rapid expansion and land speculation.
We have purchased the only piece of unplatted land overlooking the Sound within the city boundary in North Seattle. We shall have in all 320 lots 30x120 feet, with 16-foot alleys and 74-foot avenues. The lots are all cleared, streets will be graded, and sidewalks laid. A sightly location! A view of the salt water from every lot! First 60 lots $300 each. Close to the proposed line of the cable road on the east side of the addition and the Electric Motor on west side of the addition, in close proximity of the S.L.S. & E. railroad, thus solving the problem of rapid and cheap transit to and from business. Seattle, the metropolis of Washington, the chief commercial and money center on Puget Sound! From this on its forward strides will be wonderful. The steam is up, and he who would ride must catch on. Our most sagacious business men and financiers predict for Seattle the grandest future. Invest at once. Plant your crop in the Queen Anne Second addition, the best, safest and cheapest property for the home builder or speculator.
“The steam is up, and he who would ride must catch on.”
This 1888 advertisement perfectly encapsulates the 'gold rush' mentality that fueled Seattle's early growth. The rhetoric of 'getting in on the ground floor' and promises of 'cheap' transit to drive up land value are themes that continue to define the city's housing and real estate discourse 135 years later.
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