The Electric Trolley Race to Lake Washington
As a new electric streetcar line connects Seattle to the lakefront, land speculators are scrambling to capitalize on the city's suburban expansion.
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. We are able to offer a large and varied list to select from: 37 1/2 acres at $350 per acre; 40 acres at $300 per acre; 40 acres at $325 per acre; 6 acre tracts at $300 per acre, on small payment down and balance on installments; 5 acre tract, all cleared, $2,000, and plenty more.
“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.”
The 1891 opening of the Rainier Avenue Electric Line mirrors the modern obsession with transit-oriented development. Just as streetcar access once transformed rural Lake Washington acreage into premium real estate, Seattle's current light rail expansion continues to drive the 'scramble' for housing density and rising property values along key transit corridors.
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