Seattle’s Tent City: The Great Fire’s Temporary Housing
A detailed census of the makeshift wooden and canvas structures housing the city in the weeks after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.
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.
A reporter spent yesterday tallying the tents that currently constitute the business and residential landscape of Seattle following the fire. There are 454 tents in total, used for everything from bakeries, saloons, and dry goods stores to private residences. Businesses like hardware stores, groceries, and fruit stands dominate the makeshift storefronts on Yesler Avenue, while families occupy tents along the waterfront, Eighth Street, and in the residential camps near the city outskirts. Camp Spokane, located on the hill bounded by Yesler, Tenth, and Eleventh Streets, provides government-issued housing for men seeking daily employment, though officials expect the camp to be broken up soon.
“The best way to have a bad law repealed was to enforce it.”
This census offers a rare, granular view of the 'tent city' that formed immediately after the 1889 fire, echoing the precarious and temporary housing solutions found in modern Seattle. Much like today’s encampments, these settlements were organized by necessity and temporary public assistance before the city's eventual regrade and brick-and-mortar reconstruction.
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