The Real Estate Boom at Salmon Bay
A speculative land development promises a suburban future in Seattle’s north side, betting on railroad connectivity.
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 Gilman Park development presents the best chance for the seeker after a choice home lot, or for the speculator for a rapid and certain rise in value, ever presented in this city. These choice residence lots are located in that growing and important section of our city—North side—and about fifteen minutes' ride from the Lake Shore and Eastern depot, easily reached by the Lake Shore and Eastern Railway. The contract is let and one thousand feet of the railroad and driveway across Salmon Bay is completed, with hourly trains to be running into the center of the property in 30 days. The West Coast Improvement Company is busily engaged with a large force of men in clearing and grading this property for residence purposes. Park residence lots in all large cities command the highest prices of any resident portion of the city, and have made fortunes for buyers purchasing quantities of lots. Come early and secure a fine block.
“Park residence lots in all large cities command the highest prices of any resident portion of the city, and have made fortunes for buyers purchasing quantities of lots.”
This 1888 advertisement for Gilman Park (modern-day Ballard) highlights the enduring Seattle cycle of banking on transit infrastructure to inflate land values. Today’s light rail expansions and 'transit-oriented development' debates echo the same promises of rapid, wealth-generating urbanization that defined the city’s expansion more than a century ago.
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