Seattle’s Rebirth After the Great Fire
While the embers of the 1889 Great Fire were still cooling, the city's architects and business leaders immediately began a frenzied, organized effort to rebuild the commercial district in brick and stone.
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.
There is one feature of the new life that will not grow old, and that is the work of building. The climate of the labor market is gradually changing for the better, and ever-increasing foundations for many new structures are already well under way. Mr. Chris Herman will build on his property, situated on the northeast corner of Front and Cherry streets, as soon as the debris can be removed and the excavations made. The building will be built of brick, iron, stone, and terra cotta, and will be a model structure. It will be three stories in height. The lower floor will be divided into two stores. The one on the corner, fifty feet in frontage, will be occupied by Lischke & Co., clothiers, and the other store will be occupied by the druggist. The two upper floors will be suitably arranged for office purposes. Architect Fisher has nearly completed the plans and the building will be completed inside of four months. The estimated cost is $30,000.
“There is one feature of the new life that will not grow old, and that is the work of building.”
The 1889 Great Seattle Fire destroyed the city's wooden downtown, forcing a rapid, mandated transition to brick and stone construction. Much like the urban planning debates of today, this moment of crisis allowed civic leaders to redefine the city's character, infrastructure, and density in a matter of months.
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