The Electric Line to the Lake: Seattle's Suburban Dream
A newly opened electric rail line promises to turn the shores of Lake Washington into a suburban paradise, sparking a scramble for prime real estate.
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 Rainier Avenue Electric Line is now (this New Year’s day) opened for traffic. Its course is southeasterly to Lake Washington. This event makes available, for the first time, a large section unsurpassed for attractiveness. The region along the lake is destined to become extremely valuable on account of its peculiar desirability for suburban residences. This fact will be appreciated when the people become acquainted with it as they now will be able to do. Of course, values will advance. There will be a 'scramble' for holdings.
“Of course, values will advance. There will be a 'scramble' for holdings.”
The 1891 promise that transit would unlock 'suburban' lakefront property for residential development is the precursor to a century of Seattle's transit-oriented growth. Today, that same corridor remains a focal point of development debates as the city balances transit access, density, and the rising cost of land.
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