The Real Estate Frenzy of Renton Addition
Promoters of a new Seattle neighborhood published a list of prominent investors to drive up property values before the arrival of a new cable line.
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.
Hereby give ample notice that ten days after work is actually begun (and this must be within a few days), prices in Renton addition will be advanced 20 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 now. For the information of intending purchasers we print the following list of bona fide purchasers in Renton addition: Hon. T.J. Humes, chief justice of Washington territory; Mr. Leigh H.J. Hunt, proprietor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Mr. W.K. Hall, proprietor of the Evening Press; T.M. Reed, register of the United States office; Prosecuting Attorney Neterer; Mr. H.W. Holbrook, manufacturer of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern railway; Ex-Prosecuting Attorney Ronald; Mr. J.H. Gruz, postmaster of Newcastle; Mr. G.W. Fowler, editorial staff of the Evening Press; Mr. John A. Bleecker, editor-in-chief of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper; Mr. Edgar B. Piper, city editor of the Post-Intelligencer.
“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 now.”
The aggressive marketing of 'Renton Addition' in the 1890s—complete with a list of influential 'bonafide' investors to create FOMO—mirrors the speculative development booms that continue to shape Seattle's real estate market today. By highlighting prominent civic leaders as buyers, the developers signaled that the neighborhood was a 'sure thing,' a tactic that remains a staple of urban gentrification.
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