Walla Walla Addition Touts Homes Along New Streetcar
Before the boom and bust cycles defined Seattle, developers were already promising the 'best buy' near the new streetcar lines.
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 Walla Walla, the most popular addition in Seattle. 50 houses built in last 90 days. Only a few lots left at present prices. Every lot in the addition within 2 blocks of the James Street car line now being built. Parties desiring homes will find this property the best buy in Seattle. All prices will be advanced January 1, 1891. Choice lots! Low prices! Easy terms! Brewer & Hiptie, Office with A. Gardner, 606 Second Street.
“Every lot in the addition within 2 blocks of the James Street car line now being built.”
This advertisement captures the frantic pace of Seattle's early expansion, promising rapid development tied to public transit access. It echoes the 'transit-oriented development' rhetoric still used today, where proximity to infrastructure like the James Street cable car line was the primary hook for selling residential property in the late 19th century.
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