The Madison Street Land Rush of 1889
As Seattle boomed, developers marketed Madison Street as the 'Fifth Avenue of the West,' promising a paradise for the wealthy while ignoring the reality of the city's rugged, unmapped hills.
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 placing of the Renton Addition property on the market is popularly referred to as the chief event of the season in real estate circles. It means much for the city and a great deal for those who desire the very highest and most sightly lots in the city. For a long time, Madison Street has been acknowledged as the choicest avenue and the finest drive in Seattle, as well as the chief thoroughfare from the business center to Lake Washington. It is a fact, remarked by visitors and universally recognized by citizens of Seattle, that what Michigan Avenue is to Chicago, Euclid Avenue to Cleveland, and Fifth Avenue to New York, Madison Street is to the Queen City. Renton Addition occupies the level plateau on the summit of the second hill on Madison Street, the highest point between Lake Washington and the harbor. Magnificent scenery meets the eye in every direction, forming a perfect and most gorgeous panorama. To the east, the waters of Lake Washington may be seen, with Kirkland in the distance, while the lofty peaks of the Cascade mountains form a picturesque background. Turning southward, Mount Hood strikes the vision, while a little farther on Mount Rainier looms up majestically. Toward the west, the city, extending from the head of the bay to Queen Anne Town, lays spread out before the eye, together with an uninterrupted sweep of the harbor and the Sound.
“It is a fact, remarked by visitors and universally recognized by citizens of Seattle, that what Michigan Avenue is to Chicago, Euclid Avenue to Cleveland, and Fifth Avenue to New York, Madison Street is to the Queen City.”
This 1889 sales pitch mirrors today's Seattle real estate marketing, which still relies on the 'view property' promise to justify soaring prices. Just as developers in 1889 were betting on future infrastructure (cable cars) to build value, contemporary Seattle's density is still being shaped by the speculative promise of transit and development on historically high-ground residential corridors.
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