The Gentrification of Early Seattle
A 1889 land prospectus uses the promise of a new streetcar line to drive up property values, listing an elite roster of buyers to signal progress—and profit.
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.
Under the franchise granted to J. Thompson, H.G. Struve, John P. Hoyt, Jacob Furth, A.B. McMcKee, G.H. Heilbron and others, for a cable rail line on Madison street, work will be commenced before September 10, and the road and in operation within seven months. I hereby give ample notice that ten days after work is actually begun (and this must be within a few days), prices in Benton addition will be advanced 10 per cent. Only a small portion of the lots to be offered this year remain unsold, and those who intend to secure home sites in this beautiful location should act immediately. For the information of intending purchasers, I present the following list of bona fide purchasers in Benton addition: Hon. C.H. Hanford, Chief Justice of Washington territory; Mr. Leigh S.J. Hunt, proprietor of the Post-Intelligencer; Mr. W.E. Bailey; Mr. T.M. Reed Jr., register of the United States land office; Prosecuting Attorney Newlin; Mr. F. Holbrook, general manager of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad company; Ex-Attorney Ronald; Mr. Fred J. Grant, associate editor of the Post-Intelligencer; Mr. A.R. Fulmer, editor-in-chief of the Evening Press; Mr. John A. Lusk, of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper; Mr. Edgar B. Piper, city editor of the Post-Intelligencer; Mr. Jerome Catlin; King County Investment company; Miss M. Louise Burns, of Minnesota; Mr. J.A. Parks, of Dexter Horton & Co.'s bank; Mr. J.L. B. Hoit, of Dexter Horton & Co.'s bank; Dr. Clarence A. Holmes; Mr. H.M. Bennett; Mr. H.A. Frederick; Mr. D.K. Howard; Mrs. Abbie McCulith; Mrs. H.A. Boyer; Mr. R.G. Westerman; Mr. George E. Budlong; Mr. R.M. Crawford; Mr. John A. Ware; Dr. C.S. Merrill; Mr. Frank E. Ware; Mrs. L.J. O'Farrell; Mr. A. Sharp; Mr. I.E. Kendall; Mrs. Caroline Baker; Mrs. Elizabeth J. Crawford; Mr. B.H. Rogers; Messrs. Isaac and H. Bingham; Mrs. Martha George; Miss Ida Carter; Mr. J.B. Lockwood; Mr. T.A. Garrett; Dr. David P. Bowman; Mr. James G. Gillies; Mr. George Hartig; Mr. G. Falk. Crawford & Conover, Room 10, Newlin Building, Seattle, Washington.
“I hereby give ample notice that ten days after work is actually begun, prices in Benton addition will be advanced 10 per cent.”
This 1889 pitch is a classic case of transit-oriented development where elite insiders bet on infrastructure to inflate land value. It mirrors today's Seattle, where the promise of new light rail stations triggers intense real estate speculation, displacing residents in favor of those who can afford the 'advanced' 10 percent markup.
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