by Wendy Lafond

Created on: November 13, 2008   Last Updated: July 21, 2009

The most significant consequence of the Great Seattle Fire was and still is the impressive positive influence that the overall mass destruction had on the people, the architecture, and the overall city itself. It is simply amazing how that utter devastation could be turned around so quickly to become such an important element in the positive and productive future of the metropolis of Seattle.

The fire started on the afternoon of June 6, 1889, sometime around 2:30 PM. By 4:00 PM the roar of the fire could be heard for miles and most residents knew the city was beyond hope. The fire burned until 3:00 AM and had literally wiped out the majority of Seattle. 120 acres, almost 32 city blocks, including railroad terminals and wharfs, the estimated loss for the residents was between 15 and 20 million dollars.

At 11:00 AM on June 7, 600 businessmen gathered to begin planning how to survive their current situation and rebuild their future. Aid flooded in from around the country. People began erecting tents to serve as temporary restaurants and in less than a month there were over 100 businesses conducting trade out of tents. The people pulled together like never before. Hatchets were buried, feuds were forgotten and the past was left in the ashes as the residents of Seattle set forth to rebuild their town.

The burned out district banned the construction of wooden buildings. So began the architectural changes in the heart of Seattle. Gone were the ornate wooden cornices and intricate designs of pre-fire Seattle, replaced by brick and masonry. Pre-fire architecture was gone, but the relative safety of the new building ordinances worked and Seattle rebuilt and grew in the process.

Within a month of the fire, Seattle voters granted the city funding for a city owned water system, as the previous system had so miserably failed them in a time of great need. The water system utilized the Cedar River as its source and significantly improved the reliability of the overall system.

Seattle had originally been built atop filled in tidelands and flooding had been a major issue. The Seattle Officials took advantage of the reconstruction project, as well as all the aid the city was receiving, and added a major regarding of the streets to the already hardworking project crews. The result was streets that were, in places, one to two stories higher than they had been previously. In some places residents had to place ladders against the sides of the streets to be able to cross at intersections. Today, they give tours through the underground of Seattle.

The town of Seattle had a population of approximately 25,000 people when the fire broke out. Most of the residents stayed and rebuilt. Many people who came to help with the reconstruction projects fell in love with area and its people and decided to make Seattle their home. Within one year the population had grown to roughly 43,000. Seattle had become a bustling city full of life and portraying a promising future.

The pulling together of the community, the passing of ordinances for building codes for safety, the significant changes in the architectural design, the newly redesigned water systems, and a substantial rebuilding of the street system were the most important and noteworthy changes that came about as a direct result of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

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