The Great Seattle Tent-Roof Controversy
Facing a winter housing shortage, Seattle officials were forced to choose between strict fire safety codes and allowing residents to shelter themselves under makeshift canvas roofs.
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At the council meeting, a petition regarding the fire limits was introduced. Councilman Ingraham spoke of the emergency, noting, 'I have had many applications as to how to cover from the winter, for the reason that I failed to see all that living in the city and being devoted to that and having attended to it... I am sorry to have to do so.' The committee reported on a plan for temporary relief for winter housing. Councilman F. A. Twitchell suggested that while a rigid permit should be given for a 'canvas roof' for protection against the approaching winter, they did not deem it wise to extend the privilege for permanent buildings. The council adopted the report, with an amendment that owners of tents be required to furnish bonds to remove their tents when ordered to do so. Chairman Burie of the fire and water committee also warned of the violation of tent permits, noting that many tents had assumed the proportions of wooden structures, and that a rigid inspection should be made to tear down those violating the code.
“Citizens can and ought to be content with a canvas roof, and submit to the inconvenience for a little while longer for the sake of the general safety.”
In 1889, as Seattle struggled to provide emergency shelter before the winter, city leaders debated the safety of 'tent-roofs' and temporary structures. Today, the tension between strict fire/building codes and the immediate, desperate need for affordable, accessible housing remains a central friction point in Seattle's municipal governance.
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