The City That Wouldn't Stop Building
Fresh from the ashes of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city defied expectations of a cooldown, pouring over $10 million into a massive 1890 construction boom.
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.
The record of construction in Seattle during 1890, while not as extended as that of 1889, is a remarkable testimonial of the city's activity. The conditions of 1889 were extraordinary, and the devastation caused by the fire rendered necessary the immediate construction of a great number of buildings. It would have been natural to expect a marked cessation of operations; but it did not occur. During the entire season, the principal streets of Seattle were lined with evidences of new construction. Brick, stone, and lumber everywhere interrupted traffic, and continuous passage was nowhere possible. Thousands of men were given steady employment at good wages. The building energy was manifest throughout the residence portion and the suburbs—Ballard, Fremont, Edgewater, Latona, Green Lake, South Seattle, Kirkland, and West Seattle all contributing. The character of buildings is creditable in the highest degree; it is not too much to say that no other city of 50,000 inhabitants in the United States can make such a remarkable showing of business blocks constructed in such an artistic, costly, and expensive manner.
“Brick, stone and lumber, and other building material everywhere interrupted traffic of the street, and continuous passage for considerable distances was nowhere possible.”
This 1890 construction report captures a city obsessed with physical growth and rapid transformation, a cycle that defines Seattle’s identity to this day. While the scale of capital has shifted from brick-and-mortar blocks to tech campuses and high-rises, the relentless pace of development and the accompanying disruption to city life remain a constant theme in Seattle's history.
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