The Rapid Rise of a City from the Ashes
After a devastating fire nearly destroyed Spokane, the community bypassed despair, opting instead for an immediate, high-velocity reconstruction effort that saw the city rising before the smoke had even cleared.
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.
Little over two weeks ago, the great fire occurred. Sufficient time has elapsed to enable one to take a calm and somewhat intelligent view of the situation in which the city is left by the disaster. In the history of similar fires, never has a city met its misfortune with better powers of quick recovery. There was practically no surplus or idle population to care for; the construction of three new lines of railroad in the neighborhood had created a strong demand for common labor, and this had taken out of town several thousand men who might otherwise have been a burdensome if not dangerous element. Business men and people generally were prosperous; there was an abundance of money in the community, and it was well apportioned among all classes. Carpenters were making $6 a day, laborers were receiving $4 a day. Consequently, while many were burned out by the fire, few were made destitute or helpless. The city regained its condition of normal repose and regularity in a wonderfully short space of time. An abundance of work was offered to everybody at increased wages; clearing away of the ruins and rebuilding began at once and has been carried forward with an energy and rapidity that is simply astonishing. Riverside Avenue presents as busy a scene as Broadway, New York. It is thronged all day long with wondering men, loaded wagons, pedestrians, and streetcars. I think such a picture of human invincibility must have been seldom seen, even in our own American history. If there has been an impression abroad that because Spokane is an interior point it will be provincial, that impression may be dissipated at once. This city is founded on metropolitan lines; its people have metropolitan ideas and aspirations.
“I think such a picture of human invincibility must have been seldom seen, even in our own American history.”
This 1889 report on Spokane's rapid post-fire rebuilding mirrors the relentless, high-speed development pressures seen in modern Seattle. Much like the 'metropolitan aspirations' described, today’s Seattle often prioritizes rapid capital reinvestment over the long-term stability of the displaced.
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