The Fight to Fireproof Downtown
A Seattle neighborhood, built entirely of wood, fears a catastrophic blaze and petitions the city for a stone mandate.
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.
Third Street may become one of the business thoroughfares of Seattle. It is built entirely on the east side, which at present runs along the alley between Second and Third streets. Large frame buildings are rising on both sides of Third street; all north of Pike street are being built up with wood. An agitation has been started among property owners and insurance men to limit the construction of buildings on both sides of Third street and both sides of Pike street in the fire limits. It is argued that fire, like water, will run down hill and should rows of large wooden buildings on Third street take fire, the flames would spread and the city would face disaster.
“It is argued that fire, like water, will run down hill and should rows of large wooden buildings on Third street take fire, the flames would spread and the city would face disaster.”
This 1890 plea for fireproof construction highlights the constant terror of the 'Great Fire' that had leveled Seattle's downtown just one year prior. Today’s debates about building safety codes have shifted from fire to seismic resilience, but the civic argument remains identical: how much risk does a city tolerate for the sake of rapid development?
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