The Price of the 'Boom' in 1885 Seattle
While the city rode a wave of prosperity, locals were already feeling the strain of rapid expansion, speculation, and the 'dull times' that inevitably follow a growth spurt.
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.
Seattle, like a few other Pacific Coast cities and towns, has had a 'boom.' This is indicated by her handsome buildings and other signs of past prosperity. At present she is receiving her share of the 'dull times,' besides the local perplexities that are naturally consequent to booms. If one could but put his ear to the public keyhole, he might hear whisperings of discontent. If an orator addressed a sea of upturned faces, but were he to address the business men of Seattle, he would find their faces turned down. When I sympathized with them, they told me that they would rather have a good, steady, healthy growth than a boom. I soon struck it that the best way to tackle a man there was to keep quiet about booms. The mention of a boom makes him miserable. But with all the hatred they cherish in their hearts against booms, they would not close their doors should they see another coming. Indeed, they might salt it a little. And it does look to me that there is one coming around about the town. This one will come with less boasting, but with greater power. It will scarcely announce its coming; it will stay long, and no one will know when it will go away. It will come with a solemn promise to keep them sacred, and give generous hospitality and pleasant quarters, which this city will be prepared to give it by and by.
“When I sympathized with them, they told me that they would rather have a good, steady, healthy growth than a boom. The mention of a boom makes him miserable.”
This 1885 dispatch captures a classic Seattle cycle: the suspicion of 'boom' culture versus the reality of explosive growth. Over 140 years later, the tension between the 'healthy growth' locals desire and the 'booms' that reshape the city remains the defining narrative of Seattle's housing and economic life.
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