1888 Ad Promises Gilman Park Home Lots and Quick Profits
Developers promised a 'choice residence' utopia in North Seattle, touting hourly trains and rapid wealth, just as the city's housing boom began in earnest.
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.
This park presents the best chance for the seeker after a choice home lot, or to 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, 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.”
The late 1880s saw Seattle undergoing a massive transformation, with companies like the West Coast Improvement Company carving out neighborhoods from wilderness to feed a land-speculation frenzy. Today’s Ballard neighborhood, which occupies this area, continues to grapple with the legacy of that initial rapid expansion—balancing the same relentless demand for 'choice residence' space with the realities of urban density.
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